What Germany Owes to Greece
Germany’s obligations to Greece are not vague or symbolic. They are concrete, enforceable, and long overdue:
- Repayment of the Occupation Loans, which are inalienable, interest-bearing and overdue (based on international treaties);
- War Reparations for the destruction of the country’s infrastructure, as awarded at the Paris Peace Conference (1946);
- Compensation to victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity (as determined in the Nuremberg Trials);
- Repatriation of illegally extracted antiquities and stolen cultural treasures (based on ethical and legal principles)
Repeated Demands, Repeated Refusals
From 1945 to 2019, Greece has demanded repayment through diplomatic channels again and again. Germany has answered with silence or outright refusal. This refusal is not only inconceivable, but is also a violation of ethics, justice, and international law.
Germany, despite causing two World Wars and benefiting more than any other country from the reduction of its foreign debt, refuses to pay what it owes to Greece. With the 1953 London Agreement, the Allied countries (USA, Great Britain and France) gave Germany the opportunity to write off a significant portion of its foreign debt, and to settle the remainder on very favorable terms: (a) Reduction of the pre-war debt from 22.6 billion to 7.5 billion marks, and (b) Reduction of the post-war debt from 16.2 billion to 7 billion marks, with the provision that they be repaid in 30 years and on the condition that Germany has surpluses.
The cancellation of Greek debt according to the “German model” was proposed by French economist and author Thomas Piketty in 2015, after being invited by mayor and SPD leader Olaf Scholz (later Chancellor) to receive the Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s Political Book Prize. At that time, the economic crisis in Greece was at its peak. Piketty then stated that: “Germany saw its debts largely written off by the Allies in 1953. It was a very good solution” because “the deletion allowed the Bonn governments to rebuild the country and make it a global economic power again” “Why shouldn’t we also propose a similar solution for Greece today?” But Germany turned a deaf ear.
However, Greece would not need to write off its debt if Germany were to repay its own debt, which was larger than Greece’s public debt and sufficient for its full repayment.
Two Nobel Prize–winning economists exposed the injustice of the recent implementation of Memoranda in Greece:
Paul Krugman: “German demands over Greece today are vindictive. Who will ever trust Germany’s good intentions again?”
Joseph Stiglitz: “Germany has done so well in the propaganda game… but the facts prove otherwise. Greeks have been crushed for the second time in a century by Germany”
Independent studies, including those by the Hale Institute, confirm that Germany continues to enrich itself at Greece’s expense.
The Contradiction
Greece pays its financial debts to Germany and to Europe systematically.
Germany refuses to honor its own debts to Greece from WWII.
This is the moral and political contradiction: Greece honors its obligations; Germany does not.
Our Position
This contradiction cannot stand. Germany must confront its history, accept responsibility, and repay what it owes to Greece. Until it does, Greece has every right to suspend payment of its debts to Germany.
Our struggle is not only for Greece. It is for the restoration of fairness, dignity, and justice in Europe.