Colm-Dodge-Goldsmith Plan
콜름-도지-골드스미스 계획
The Colm-Dodge-Goldsmith Plan was a 1946 proposal for monetary reform in Germany prepared for the western occupation authorities by Gerhard Colm, Joseph M. Dodge, and Raymond Goldsmith. The 1948 reform drew on it by converting cash and deposits at 100 Reichsmark to 6.5 Deutsche Mark, debt at 100:10, and wages, prices, and rents at 1:1.
In depth
Formation and application
The plan aimed to remove the monetary overhang that had made the Reichsmark dysfunctional after wartime finance and inflation. It also envisaged restructuring banking and adjusting property and debt relations, and became an important basis for introducing the Deutsche Mark in the three western occupation zones on 20 June 1948. The western Allies did not implement every element unchanged, particularly provisions connected with compensation for losses.
Conversion and redistribution
The low conversion rate for cash and deposits, alongside the higher rate for debts, imposed losses on monetary holders and creditors while reducing debtors' burdens. Converting wages and prices at 1:1 preserved continuity in nominal contracts. The plan was therefore more than a change of currency units: it was a design for reorganising postwar Germany's property and debt relations.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) (supports the plan's 1946 OMGUS origin, authorship by Joseph M. Dodge, Gerhard Colm, and Raymond Goldsmith, and its relation to the 1948 reform)
- econstor.eu (Gunther Schnabl, Kyklos, 2024, supports the plan's role in the reform and the 100:6.5 deposits, 100:10 debt, and 1:1 wages, prices, and rents conversion rates)