1.3 The Recovery of the Republic, 1924-29 Flashcards
When was the Rentenbank created?
November 1923
What was the Rentenmark?
A new currency
Value tied to price of gold and backed my industrial plants and agricultural land = real value
When was the Reichsbank introduced and what did they rename the Rentenmark?
August 1924, Reichsmark
What did Germany agree with America under the Dawes Plan in 1924?
Reparations temporarily reduced to £50 million per year
US banks agreed to loan money to German industry ($25 billion in 1924-30)
What caused the French to leave the Ruhr in 1930?
Stresemann called off passive resistance
The Dawes Plan
How did the Dawes Plan positively affect the Weimar economy?
Industrial output doubled (1923-28)
Employment, trade and income from tax increased
What drawbacks did the Dawes Plan have?
Extreme parties furious that they had agreed to pay reparations
Fragile economic recovery depended on American loans
When was the Young Plan established?
August 1929
What agreement was made in the Young Plan?
Reparations reduced from £6.6 billion to £2 billion
Germany given more years to pay
Who said that the Young Plan was ‘passing on the penalty to the unborn?
Adolf Hitler, leader of the NSDAP
What negatives did the Young Plan have?
Annual payments were still £50 million a year
Stretched until 1988
What positives did the Young Plan have?
Lower reparations allowed government to lower taxes
This released spending power, boosting industry and creating jobs again boosting spending power etc (virtuous cycle of economic growth)
French agreed to leave Rhineland 1930
Increased confidence in Weimar
When was the Locarno Pact signed?
1st December 1925
Which countries was the Locarno Pact between?
France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Belgium (equal terms rather than diktat)
What was agreed during the Locarno Pact?
German accepted new border with France and France promised peace
Agreed with Allies that Rhineland would be permanently demilitarised
Agreed to open talks about German membership to League of Nations
What was good about the Locarno Pact?
Made war with Europe less likely
Germany being treated as an equal - boosted prestige of Weimar and increased confidence in moderate parties who supported Stresemann
Why were some extremist parties unhappy about the Locarno Pact?
Resented the fact that the ToV borders had been confirmed
What did Stresemann win in 1926?
A Nobel Prize
In a referendum held in 1929, how many people were in favour of the Young Plan?
35 million - 85% of those who voted
What was the League of Nations?
International body where powerful countries discussed solving world issues without war
Germany excluded
When was Germany allowed to join the League of Nations Council?
September 1926
Why was Germany joining the League of Nations good for some? Why did others not agree?
Boosted moderate parties supporting Stresemann
Boosted confidence in Weimar
HOWEVER to some it was a symbol of ToV and they wanted nothing to do with it
When was the Kellog-Briand Pact signed?
August 1928
How many countries signed the Kellog-Briand Pact?
62 including Germany
What did the Kellog-Briand Pact promise?
States wouldn’t use war to achieve foreign policy aims
USA not in it
Positives of the K-B P?
Showed Germany now included amongst main powers
Weimar Republic was a respectable state
Increased confidence in moderate parties
Why did some not like the K-B P?
Didn’t remove the terms of the ToV which still made them pay reparation, lose land and military
What were the differences between the Reichstag election results in 1924 and 1928?
Moderate parties (SPD, DDP, ZP, DVP) = 50% - 58% Extreme parties (KDP, DNVP, NSDAP) = 40% - 28% Other parties = 10% - 14%
On what date did Stresemann die?
3rd October, 1929
