ECONOMY Flashcards
What happened at the Lausanne Conference of 1932?
meeting of representatives from the United Kingdom, Germany, and France that resulted in an agreement to suspend World War I reparations payments imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles.
Held from June 16 to July 9, 1932, it was named for its location in Lausanne, Switzerland.
when was the hoover moratorium? What did it do?
1931- suspended the payment of all war debts, including reparations for a period of one year. This freed up money for the gov to spend on solving the depression but they only introduced modest work schemes (not enough to have a significant impact on the economy)
When was the banking crisis? What happened?
1931- The Danat Bank, one of the three largest banks, failed to open, which prompted a run on the banks. In the end 5 major banks went bankrupt
What can be argued about Muller and Bruning’s cabinets?
That they were very close to bringing about economic salvation; reparations were finally cancelled, the budget was nearly balanced, the public debt was low, collapse of the great financial institutions was prevented.
YET- unemployment remained a key issue
Describe the state of small businesses 1923/4
many small businesses collapsed; in 1924 there were more bankruptcies than in the previous five years altogether.
What did big businesses do in the Stresemann era?
What did some of them do?
many surviving big businesses began to form cartels whose fixed prices helped to stabilise the economy
Some cartels organised themselves into associations of shared interests. The biggest was I.G Farben, set up in 1925, which united various chemicals based cartels that made everything from rayon to dynamite and fertiliser
Describe the growth of the chemicals industry in the WR
By 1925, the chemicals industry was producing one-third more than in 1913, and almost two-thirds more by 1930
Did disputes exist in the Weimar Republic?
Yes- there were significant levels of dispute between business owners and workers all through the Weimar period, with workers pressing for better conditions and owners trying to cut wages and extending working hours
Describe the state of trade in the golden years initially
There was a shifting in trade world wide (set off by the US policy of isolationism) that led to many countries introducing tarrifs on foreign goods
Germany initially suffered from heavier tariffs due to the reaction of other countries to germanys role in the war
When was Germany admitted to the League of Nations? What was the effect?
1926 - Exports were back to their 1913 levels of ten billion marks by 1926 and income was 13% higher
What was set up in October 1923?
Government arbitration boards - marked a significant change from the agreement made by Ebert with industry and TU’s
(Ebert had fixed working hours at 8 a day but left management disputes to those involved)
How many cases were taken to the arbitration boards 1924-1929?
approx 60,000 cases
What had the state arbitration boards meant?
That the government had to settle wages and any other matter of disputes
Were state arbitration boards democratic?
Although at first the boards tended to favour the employers, after 1924 they tended to make compromised rulings.
Describe agriculture in the 1920’s
significant employer; between 1/3 and 1/4 of all workers were agricultural workers
