Question

When were the marshall plan loans paid off?

Answer 1

- $ 1.6 billon's worth (at end-1940s prices) of Marshall Plan aid (not actual money but machinery and other capital goods, fuel, fertilizer, etc produced by US companies who invoiced the US government) as a loan to West Germany and West Berlin. Marshall Plan aid also offered to East Germany but refused.

- other Marshall Plan recipient countries got their aid as non-repayable grants.

- in a 1953 treaty the loan was forgiven except for $ 1 billion which was to be repaid over the next 30 years but was in fact repaid by 1966

In a way Germany profited from being treated less favorably (loan instead of grant) initially. The German companies paid the value of the goods imported from the US into an account with the central bank, that was used as a revolving fund loaning money to businesses until such time as the money had to be repaid. The actual part repayment seems to have been done from the general federal budget, so the fund remained as a separate asset which could not be spent for general government expense. It still exists (named "ERP-Sondervermögen"), is used to give loans to businesses for investments, and seems to be at about 12 billion euros these days.