How did World War I affect Hamburg’s trade and merchant fleet?

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Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg — Hamburg Hamburg, Germany.

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 brought Hamburg’s economic progress to a standstill. The conflict caused the city's international trade to collapse, and its merchant fleet, which consisted of 1,466 ships, was effectively confined to port due to the war and the Allied naval blockade. Following the war, the victorious Allies demanded that Germany surrender nearly all of Hamburg’s ships as part of the reparations.1