Doppleganger said:
BTW to answer what I meant by Germany being the most important country in Europe at that time. That is not to say other countries weren't important (I am British after all). But being at the centre of Europe, it's population size and industrial and engineering might, all make it the most important country in Europe in terms of its influence on it's neighbours and the wider world at large.
I still don't agree (I'm a stubborn man, if I want to be
) The central position of Germany has it's bad sides too. World economy wise, they where in a bad position back then. The best way to ship cargo was by boat. (It still is for large amounts.) Now France, Belgium and the Netherlands all had the upper hand when it came to harbours. And don't forget, back then these countries still had their colonies, so they weren't as small as they appear. And Germany still was suffering under sanctions placed upon them after losing the first WW. No, Germany wasn't at all the important country you say it was.
Doppleganger said:
Let's not get all nationalistic here. Some countries are clearly more important than others in terms of the influence they have on others. That's a fact of life.
Granted, but I wasn't being nationalistic, I just didn't agree with you..
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You're right to say that the German economy in the Weimar Republic days was in dire straights and that they wre still crippled by the terms of the Versaille Treaty. However, you cannot dispute the fact that since it was united, Germany has always been one of the major influences in Europe. One only has to look at history to see that the the Holy Roman Empire was sited basically where Germany is today. The geographical position that Germany takes up makes it very important as it sits at the hub of Europe, able to influence it's neighbours both East and West. Germany has access to the coast and therefore shipping lanes, so I don't follow your argument that France, Holland and Belgium were more important simply because they had better harbours.
Your argument that all these countries had colonies doesn't really hold up either. In the time period we're talking about, colonialism was coming to an end. The only nation that really gained a measure of real power from colonies was Great Britain, a nation crippled and scarred by the sacrifices of WW1. France too were not exactly in a great state after WW1 so it wasn't just Germany that was in a period of deep recession - it was Europe wide.
Even if Germany was crippled economically at the time, that geographical position, the population size, it's history and reputation (both good and bad) all made Germany still very important. Why do you think the terms of the Versaille Treaty were so harsh on Germany? It was a measure of the influence that country still generated that made the Allies impose such unworkable terms.
I honestly think that you're letting your own predjudices cloud your opinion, hence the reason why I thought you were being a little nationalistic.
But anyway, this is WAY off topic!
