In December 1932 France itself defaulted on its war debts to America. Following that precedent, Germany’s default on the 10 billion Reichsmarks it owed to its long-term creditors, principally to the United States, was only a matter of time.35 Even after the agreement on the end of reparations in Lausanne in 1932, servicing Germany’s international debts required an annual sum of 1 billion Reichsmarks in foreign exchange.
