William C. McNeil

William McNeil's study of American loans to the Weimar Republic also concentrates on the private structure of American economic diplomacy in the inter-war years. He emphasizes, along with Michael J. Hogan, the American goal of European stabilization. Through the appointment of the American bankers. Parker Gilbert as Reparations Agent under the Dawes Plan (1924), the American government insured that Germany would continue to meet its reparations obligations and thereby enable England and France to repay war loans to the United States.

Though he was officially a neutral administrator, Gilbert shared the conservative fiscal views of American bankers. According to the conservative orthodoxy of the day, sound fiscal policy meant a balanced budget. Until the Young Plan replaced the Dawes Plan in 1929, Gilbert exercised considerable pressure on the Weimar government to balance its budget without regard for the domestic consequences of achieving this goal. Without a budget deficit, the conflict between the political right and left over the use of Germany's limited funds became more acute. McNeil argues that Gilbert thereby contributed unwittingly to the political polarization which ultimately destroyed the Republic.… (lisätietoja)