Woe to the vanquished! These words of Brenn, the Gallic leader, remained in history because he extremely succinctly expressed the essence of the situation of the country, which suffered a military fiasco. The winner dictates the conditions according to which he wants to receive material compensation for losses incurred during the hostilities. At the same time, he determines the amount of damage himself, guided by his own considerations and calculations.
Contribution is the amount expressed in monetary units that must be paid (often very long) to the defeated country in favor of the winner. Most often, the latter is not limited to this form of settlement, but requires territorial concessions and, as a rule, receives them.
Contributions, reparations, annexations and other punishments
The word itself was widely used in Russia after the proclamation of the "Decree on Peace", which took place directly (the next day) after the October Revolution of 1917. In it, the Leninist government called on the belligerents to immediately end the war without determining winners and losers, while refraining from annexations, indemnities and other means of damages. The decree was openly demagogic-populist in nature, since the impending defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary was no longer in doubt.
Of course, England, France and the United States rejected this offer. After the signing of the Kempien Armistice, a huge indemnity was imposed on Germany. This, of course, facilitated the recovery of the economies of the victorious states, but subsequently contributed to the emergence of the Nazi movement, which received massive support from the population of the humiliated and robbed country.
Punishment for the Second World War
Contribution and reparation again became measures of influence on Germany after its defeat in 1945. During the years of the Second World War, vast expanses of the western part of the territory of the USSR were ruined. More than 60% of Soviet industrial potential was destroyed, and the amount of cultural property exported by the Nazis amounted to millions of units. According to the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, reparations were imposed on the Germans in the form of industrial equipment, technology, and even movies.
In this period, monetary compensation was almost impossible, therefore, it is rather difficult to determine whether it is indemnity or reparation, and legal disagreements on this issue remain to this day. Eight states make claims against the Russian Federation regarding cultural values displaced after World War II, however, without much success.
There have been historical precedents before. In the Paris Louvre there are many exhibits captured during the predatory campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the probability of their return to the country of origin can be estimated as extremely low.
How to calculate the damage?
The main problem remains the method of calculation, or rather, the lack thereof in determining the amount that should be the contribution. Determining the extent of damage remains the prerogative of the winning country, and therefore is subjective. In addition, it is difficult to materially assess the lives of tens of millions of people mercilessly killed by the invaders.
Apparently, in the near future a breakthrough in the part of international jurisprudence in charge of these difficult issues is not expected. Contribution is a punishment for an aggressor country expressed in monetary units adopted by world law, but in order to realize it, it is necessary to completely defeat the armed forces of a warlike state and establish an occupation regime on its territory. Otherwise, sooner or later it may stop further payments, as happened in 1935, when Germany unilaterally refused to comply with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
And as long as the world order rests on power balance, the old-old motto remains valid: “Woe to the vanquished!”