31.1.2.3 The challenges of 1923

Question 1

When did the French occupy the Ruhr?

Answer 1

11 January 1923.

Question 2

^{The challenges of 1923}

Why was Germany unable to pay back reparations? (2)

Answer 2

• Government bankrupt: used all their gold reserves in WW1 to finance war efforts.
• Loss of wealth-making industrial areas: fewer people meant less taxes.

Question 3

^{The challenges of 1923}

What were the reasons why the French occupied the Ruhr? (3)

Answer 3

• November 1922: Germany failed to pay reparations, which went against the terms of the ToV.
• They needed Germany’s reparations to help pay off their own war debts to the USA.
• They believed Germany could make the repayment but were choosing not to (despite the German government arguing that they could not afford to pay).

Question 4

^{The challenges of 1923}

How did France and Belgium respond to Germany’s inability to pay the second instalments? (3)

Answer 4

1. They sent troops to invade the Ruhr, Germany’s main industrial land.
2. They aimed to confiscate the goods they needed as reparations payments.
3. They occupied coal mines, railways, steel works and factories – all things that were important to Germany’s economy.

Question 5

^{The challenges of 1923}

How did Germany respond to the French occupying the Ruhr?

Answer 5

The government ordered the workers to follow a policy of ‘passive resistance’ by going on strike, causing France to have nothing to take as there was no industrial production.

Question 6

^{The challenges of 1923}

How did France respond to Germany’s ‘passive resistance’ due to the Ruhr occupation? (3)

Answer 6

• Workers refusing to take orders were shot (~132 killed).
• Some workers were expelled from the Ruhr region (~150,000).
• Strikers were arrested and replaced with French and Belgian workers.

Question 7

^{The challenges of 1923}

What were the consequences of the French occupation of the Ruhr? (3)

Answer 7

• Attitudes (worsened): Old hatred towards France and Belgium rose and many German blamed the Weimar Republic for failing to resist the French.
• Production (fell): Goods in Germany became even more difficult to obtain, causing prices to rise making goods very expensive.
• Striking (continued): Unemployment rose, causing less taxes to be payed.

Question 8

^{The challenges of 1923}

When did Germany suffer from hyperinflation?

Answer 8

1923

Question 9

^{The challenges of 1923}

How did hyperinflation arise in Weimar Germany?

Answer 9

• Government printed more money to pay off strikers and replace the fall in tax payments, whilst still printing money to pay off their debts.
• This caused the value of the mark to decrease as the price for goods increased, despite the scarce amount.

Question 10

^{The challenges of 1923}

How did the price of bread increase from 1919 - 1923?

Answer 10

1919: 1M
1922: 200M
1923: 200,000,000,000M (200 billion)

Question 11

^{The challenges of 1923}

Who benefitted from the hyperinflation crisis? How? (3)

Answer 11

• Borrowers (e.g. businessmen), mortgagers, and landowners could pay back loans with worthless money.
• Farmers received more money for their products, which increased in demand, as prices rose.
• Foreigners could change their own currencies for millions of marks and afford things that ordinary Germans could not.

These people were mainly the upper and wealthier class.

Question 12

^{The challenges of 1923}

Who suffered from the hyperinflation crisis? How? (3)

Answer 12

People on fixed incomes (e.g. students, pensioners, the sick) found their incomes did not keep up with prices.
People with savings and those who had lent money (e.g. to the government) were the most badly hit as their money became worthless.

These people were mainly the middle and working class.