WWI and WWII Reparations and their Impact on European (Dis)Integration

Due to the separation between the historical and legal fields which have examined the issue of WWII reparations, no generally accepted definition of their current status exists either in the historical, legal or political spheres. This lack of clarity has greatly contributed to this issue remaining unresolved until the present. In his talk, Spero Paravantes looks at the way the issue was used by the Big Three in their dealings with each other after WWII. In light of the Greek government’s continued pursuit of WWI and WWII debts it claims are owed by Germany, and the recent claims made by the Polish government, this talk summarizes the historical, legal and political scholarship on the issue and also comments on its effect on relations between members of the Eurozone and the way in which responses to the issue of WWII reparations, and indeed the legacy of the war itself, have brought political and cultural divisions within the Eurozone again to forefront. Link: http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/ies/?event_ID=113412