Finland was the first country, in connection with World War II, from which reparations were demanded. In September 1944 Soviet Union demanded indemnifications of 300 million dollars, payable in commodities (timber products, paper, wood pulp, sea-going and river craft, sundry machinery). Later similar obligations of deliveries in kind were applied to Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Italy. Germany were to pay in kind for the losses caused by her to the Allied nations in the course of the war.
The article discusses the principle of war indemnities to be paid exclusively in kind, which was a new one, and compares it to the situation after World War I. One reason for the principle was a negative lesson drawn from the experiences after the previous war. A reparation system of payment in kind is the most suitable system for a country like the Soviet-Union, as it requires, at least some degree of economic planning by a centralized system.
The Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari’s 60th birthday.