Age-old credit

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Age-old credit is a term from the law of currency conversion in Germany after the Second World War . It referred to Reichsmark credits that existed on May 8, 1945 at a Berlin branch of a bank.

In accordance with Section 1 of the Conversion Supplementary Act of September 21, 1953 (UErgG), original credit balances were converted into new money balances by crediting one Deutsche Mark for every 20 Reichsmarks.

Contemporary history background

Occupation zones in Germany in 1945

The West German currency reform of 1948 only applied in the three West German zones of occupation ( Trizone ), but not in the three western sectors of Berlin . Even in the post-war period , Berlin and its surrounding area formed a closely interwoven economic area. For this reason, the western allies tried to maintain the monetary unity of Berlin, even after the political division of Germany had been de facto completed on June 20, 1948 with the introduction of the D-Mark (West) in the western zones at that time . In contrast to the western occupation zones, in the western sectors of Berlin the currency valid in the eastern sector - the coupon mark or later the D-mark (East) - could be used temporarily .

It was not until March 20, 1949, that the Western Allies decided to make the D-Mark (West) the sole means of payment in the western sectors of Berlin.

In 1957, with the establishment of the Landeszentralbank in Berlin as the legal successor to the Berlin Central Bank, integration into the Federal German central bank system was completed. East Berlin had been the center of the East German mono-banking system since July 1948 as the seat of the German Central Bank and since December 1967 as the seat of the State Bank of the GDR .

Meaning of the old credit

The four sectors of Berlin in early July 1945

The currency reform legislation only applied in the three western occupation zones , but not in West Berlin. On June 20, 1948, only every inhabitant of the western German currency area received 40 Deutsche Mark (DM) in cash against a deposit of 60 marks old money. Old money balances in Reichsmarks were basically converted into new money balances in West Germany on June 27, 1948 in such a way that the holders were credited one Deutsche Mark for every ten Reichsmarks. The Conversion Supplementary Act of September 21, 1953 also regulates the conversion of Reichsmark assets that had existed on May 8, 1945 at a Berlin branch of a credit institution (original assets). Account holders were credited one Deutsche Mark for every twenty Reichsmarks (Section 1 UErgG).

According to Section 2 of the Act on Completion of the Currency Conversion of December 17, 1975, at the end of June 30, 1976, both claims from old money deposits at financial institutions in the currency area and old money deposits in Berlin expired.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Law on the amendment of provisions of the conversion law and on the provision of the Berlin old banks with compensation claims (Conversion Amendment Act - UErgG) of 21 September 1953 in the revised version published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, structure number 7601-1, which was last amended by Art. 94 of the law of December 17, 2008 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2586) has been changed
  2. ↑ 50 Years of the Landeszentralbank in Berlin and Brandenburg 1949-1999 Festschrift, Bundesbank website , accessed on October 16, 2019
  3. ^ Anne Sudrow: Brief History of the Currency Reform 1948 June 29, 2018 ( APUZ 27/2018)
  4. ^ First law on the reorganization of the monetary system (currency law) of June 20, 1948, verassungen.de, accessed on October 16, 2019
  5. ↑ Second Law on the Reorganization of the Monetary System (Emission Law) of June 20, 1948, verfassungen.de, accessed on October 16, 2019
  6. ↑ Third Act on the Reorganization of the Monetary System (Conversion Act) of June 20, 1948, verfassungen.de, accessed on October 16, 2019
  7. ↑ Bernd Sprenger: 50 years of currency reform. 1948 and the economic policy consequences . Extended version of a lecture as part of the symposium “Setting the course for monetary policy in the 20th century” by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung on April 27, 1998, p. 207
  8. ↑ § 2 Third Act on the Reorganization of the Monetary System (Conversion Act) of June 20, 1948
  9. ↑ Federal Law Gazette I p. 3123