The Pankian Metaphor 3161

A couple of reasons. The heavy reparations, which were intended to cripple Germany for a number of years, but not de-industrialize it, along with French occupation of the Ruhr to ensure payment. Germany was also very unstable for a number of years, really a state of civil war at some times and places. Then, of course, the Great Depression started just as Germany was (barely) starting to regain lost economic ground.

Perhaps components used in tanks and aircraft were outsourced, but by the time Germany really started producing these items in bulk, they were more-or-less openly flouting the Versailles Treaty and had no need to hide those efforts (Pzkw-I production started in 1934, but not many were made until 1935 -- even then the numbers were in the high ozens or low hundreds, and these "tanks" had 2-man crews and 2 machine-guns for armament).

I believe what you're thinking of is technology transfer and shared design work, so that German engineering companies didn't fall too far behind in the 1920's and early 1930's (not that anyone else was developing very much at that time). Even so, in some areas, they did stagnate. For example, contrary to myth, the battleship Bismarck wasn't a technological marvel, just a lengthened, slightly modernised update of the Bayern-clbutt battleships launched in 1916. Well-built, certainly, but rather old-fashioned in some critical ways.

No, it started in the 1920's at the instigation of Hans von Seeckt, head of the German General Staff, and continued up until the mid-1930's.

--Larry