And Finally... The First World War officially ends on Sunday

By Tony White on Sep 30, 10 11:19 AM in News

The First World War will officially draw to a close this week 96 years after it started, as Germany pays the last instalment in the massive reparations bill set by the Allies in 1918.

The £60m payment will finally settle the £22bn debt imposed by the Treaty of Versailles on the Germans for their role in the 1914-18 conflict, one of the bloodiest in history.

The day of the debt-settling will also see the 20th anniversary of German reunification after the Cold War.

The German daily newspaper Bild said: "On Sunday the last bill is due and the First World War finally, financially at least, terminates for Germany."

The account would have been settled much earlier had Adolf Hitler not refused to pay reparations while he was in power and also had the bill not been frozen while the country was split into East and West Germany between 1945 and 1990.

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