Capitalising on Change in a Globalising World by Michalski Wolfgang

Author:Michalski, Wolfgang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: EPUB
ISBN: 9783867741880
Publisher: Murmann Verlag
Published: 2011-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

The First World War and its Economic Consequences

As in the rest of Germany, the outbreak of the First World War was received enthusiastically by the majority of Hamburg’s population. With the exception of an extremely small political and economic ruling elite, everyone—the middle class as much as the working class—believed in a short war and, first and foremost, in victory. It is difficult to determine to what extent nationalistic and patriotic fervour also concealed worries and fears. However, in the Hamburg Parliament a temporary truce was called between the political parties—as it had been earlier in the Reichstag. For the duration of the war the Social Democrats abandoned their right of opposition and even voted for war loans. Similarly, the trade unions decided not to call strikes throughout the war years even though they did not share the war-mongering patriotism of the bourgeoisie.

However, in spite of all the solidarity and in spite of the first news of the initial victories of German troops, the change of mood came sooner than generally expected and in Hamburg probably earlier than in other parts of Germany. The British sea blockade brought maritime trade to its knees. The last ship from overseas called at Hamburg’s port on 13 August 1914. The throughput of goods in Hamburg’s port fell from 25.5 million tonnes in 1913 to 1.3 million tonnes in 1915 and never achieved more than 2.6 million tonnes during the following three years. By as early as September 1914 30,000 dock workers were unemployed—even though many men had been called up for military service. The majority of trading houses, the activities of which were based on imports and exports, ran into severe difficulties and had to cut wages and jobs. The same applied to industrial companies which depended on imports and exports, in particular to those that were not—as for example shipyards and certain engineering works—directly involved in war production.

Shipping companies’ business also came to a complete standstill. Not only had German foreign trade collapsed, with many ships in Hamburg and other German ports stuck, unoccupied, at the quays, but a large number of ships which had been in Germany at the outbreak of the war had also been requisitioned by the Imperial Navy and deployed as auxiliary cruisers, troopships or hospital ships. Even the German ships which had been in foreign ports when the war broke out stood little chance of escaping the war. If they were located in enemy territory they were detained and later declared to be booty. After the War had finally been lost in November 1918 Germany had to hand over all seagoing vessels above 1,600 GRT, half of all its ships between 1,000 and 1,600 GRT, as well as a quarter of its fishing fleet as reparation payments under the Treaty of Versailles. Hamburg alone lost 764 steamers and all of its tall ships. Moreover, the Allies granted themselves a number of privileges along German sea shipping routes and inland waterways, i.e. also on the Elbe, without offering anything in return.

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