Golden age

Question 1

Gustav Stressemann’s government

Answer 1

• ended passive resistance which reduced government spending
• Rentenmark, new currency in land and one rentenmark for one trillion old marks
• kept tight control on amount of money in circulation
• cut spending and raised taxes to reduce government debt.

Question 2

Dawes plan

Answer 2

• total reparations bill stayed the same but annual payments were reduced from 1924-29
• a loan on 800 million marks from USA funded the investment in economy
• also led to the withdrawal of german and belgian troops from ruhr

Question 3

economic recovery

Answer 3

• extensive foreign investment
• industrial output grew
• exports increased
• advances in new industries
• fewer strikes
• wages for industrial workers increased

Question 4

economic weakness

Answer 4

• unemployment, 3 million unemployed in 1926
• imports increased more than exports
• increase costs
• famers suffered
• reliance on foreign loans made germany vulnerable
• middle class did not benefit

Question 5

young plan

Answer 5

1929
- total reparations refused to 1.8 billion
- annual payments increased and the payment period set to 58 years
- allied occupation in Rhineland forced to withdraw
- faced fierce opposition from right wing parties

Question 6

social welfare reform

Answer 6

• 1924, public assistance system modernized and gave basic assistance to the poor
• 1925, state accident insurance system extended
  -1927, national unemployment insurance system was introduced

Question 7

position of women

Answer 7

• “the new woman”, free, independent, sexually liberated and bigger opportunities in employment
• equal voting rights in elections
• right to be reichstag deputies
• became active in politics
• increased employment opportunities
• birth control widely available

though

• no women in cabinet or leaders of parties
• no requirement for equal pay within work places
• in many work places women were requested to give up employment when married
• decline in birth rate due to birth contour attacked

Question 8

young people

Answer 8

• becoming more rebellious
• system of state in schools that divided people on class and religion
• youth groups flourished

Question 9

jews

Answer 9

• more than 500 000 in germany and 80% in large cities
• most were fully members of german societies
• many bankers and financiers
• anti-semitism still strong amongst nationalist groups
• less apparent but still there

Question 10

arts and culture

Answer 10

• american jazz
• expressionist movement that emphasized importance of emotion (Otto Dix)
• Bauhaus school
• mainly in cities
• strong backlash from nationalists

Question 11

elections

Answer 11

• two elections in 1924 & 1928
• SPD gained seats in each of these and remained largest single party
• support for centre party declined
• KPD lost seats in the first and then gained them back in the second
• DNVP remained largest party in right wing
• Nazi party lost support

Question 12

coalition government

Answer 12

• SPD not part of most coalitions
• frequency disputes over policy
• grand coalition, offered stable coalition and lasted nearly two years

Question 13

election of Hindenburg

Answer 13

• elected as president in 1925
• positives; former military commander and soreassured conservatives that the republic was safe in his hands
• he respected wiemar government and did not abuse his powers
• appealed to political parties to work with him when restore national unity
• negatives; fundamentally a monarchist and was anti-democratic
• became increasingly impatient with party rivals and was prepared to use article 48 to bypass the reichstag whenever

Question 14

Gustav Stressemann & the policy of fulfillment

Answer 14

aims:
- constant aim to revise the treaty
- settlement of reparations issue to reduce the burden
- end allied military occupation of the Rhineland
- protect germans living under foreign rule
- recover land in the east
- restore germany as a great power

methods:
- he understood that germany was too weak economically and militarily to start another war and saw no alternative peaceful cooperation between germany and the allies

achievements; locarno pact and relations with ussr

Question 15

Locarno Pact

Answer 15

1925
- Stressemann suggested a meeting of the Western European powers to resolve some tensions over the borders and prevent want hostile alliances
- germany agreed to keep its troops out of of the rhineland and french agreed to withdraw their troops
- germany, france, belgium, poland and czechoslovakia agreed to settle disputes easily

Question 16

relations with ussr

Answer 16

• shared important common grounds dispute enormous political differences
• both treated as “outcast” nations and excluded from the league of nations
• both had lost territory in poland
• treaty of rapillo —> 1922, start of a period of cooperation between the two; trade and diplomatic relations were restored and germany secretly developed new weapons and trained pilots in soviet union.
• they were getting around the disarmament punishment of the treaty
• 1926, treaty of berlin renewed earlier treaty

Question 17

disarmament

Answer 17

• treaties of rapollo and berlin allowed germany to avoid the disarmament clashes of the treaty
• similar agreement let germany build submarines in spain and tanks in sweden.

Question 18

end of allied occupation

Answer 18

• policy of fulfillment succeeded in persuading allies yo remove their armed forces from germany step by step
• 1926, allied forces withdrawn from zone 1 in rhineland
• 1927, allies reduced occupation by 10 000 men
• remaining forced removed in 1929 and 1930.

Question 19

other diplomatic achievements

Answer 19

• 1926, germany allied to join the league of nations
• 1928, germany signed kellogg-briand pact where states voluntarily agreed to renounce war as a way of selling disputes