Foreign Policy (Weimar) Flashcards
What was Stresseman’s aim?
Restore Germany’s power and prosperity since he accepted that Germany was in no position to challenge the allies militarily and wanted to revise the treaty of Versailles. He wanted to co-operate with the west and also put mild pressure on the other powers. Germany could be seen as a purchaser of other countries’ food, a supplier of coal to France, a market for Britain and an investment opportunity for America.
This strategy was known as Erfüllungspolitik
What did Erfüllungspolitik entail?
Negotiation
Gaining the confidence of western powers
Using Germany’s economic potential to revise the treaty
Close co-operation with USA
Building links with the USSR as a means to put slight pressure on the west
How did Stresseman deal with reparations?
Dawes plan and young plan
What was the Dawes plan?
Agreed in 1924
Sum was 132,000 million marks
Over 5 years of annual payments would rise from 1000 to 2,500 million marks then would be adjusted according to economic performance
Allies maintained control of the railways, reichsbank and custom duties
Sanctions must be agreed by all allies
Germany given 800 million mark loan to help stabilise currency
It helped Germany recover economically and paid reparations as scheduled
What was the Young Plan?
Total sum reduced to 37,000 million marks
Annual payments lower than Dawes plan and was to be made over 58 years
Allied supervision discontinued
Intended as the final settlement
Allied troops were withdrawn in June 1930
What was France’s attitude towards Germany?
It was Germany’s most determined opponent. Most French politicians wanted to keep Germany permanently weak
However in 1925, the Left won the elections and the Foreign minister Astride Brian’s adopted a more subtle approach
What was the Locarno Pact?
Stresemann signed it in October 1925 with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy
Stresemann accepted Germany’s western borders but not it’s eastern borders
Reassured France about it’s borders and Germany about future French invasion
Germany also signed arbitration treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia renouncing the use of force.
When did Germany join the League of Nations? What powers did they have?
They joined in September 1926
They were given great power status on the league council with veto power
Not allowed to participate in collective action against aggression as they had military limitations
They used its position to raise matters of german interest
What was the treaty of berlin?
It was signed in April 1926 with the USSR. Had public and secret clauses
Like the 1922 Rapallo act, it helped develop relations between them and military and economic exchanges occurred
Also put mild pressure on the west as they feared Germany would move closer to the USSR
How was allied occupation?
Stressemann persuaded the French to withdraw from the Ruhr during 1924-25
After the Locarno pact, Allies left Zone 1 around Cologne by December 1925
In the Young Plan negotiations, allies agreed to end occupation early
November 1929 zone 2 was evacuated and the final zone was evacuated in June 1930
How was Disarmament?
In 1928, Germany along with 70 other countries signed the Kellog-Briand Pact renouncing the use of force
In 1926, Stresemann was able to persuade the allies who withdraw the monitoring of Germany’s compliance with the military terms of the treaty of Versailles
Germany secretly rearmed beyond the restrictions though
How successful was Stresseman internationally?
The Dawes plan contributed to Germany’s economic recovery
The Young plan reduced reparations
Able to increase France’s security of the new borders as Germany had no claim over Alsace-Lorraine
France stopped occupation of Ruhr and agreed to withdraw troops from the Rhine
German exports were back to 1913 levels and by 1929, exports were 34% higher than in 1913
How successful was Stresemann domestically?
Failed to rally Germans behind the Weimar regime
Many Germans believed the Locarno pact benefited the French only
Nationalist groups mounted a huge campaign to reject the Young plan as it still included reparations. Made Hitler more popular
