Golden years Flashcards
Examples of there being political stability between 1924 and 1929
There was an absence of attempts by early 1920’s style para-military groups to stage a coup or set up their own government
Example of there NOT being political stability between 1924 and 1929
-The parliamentary system failed to mature or develop and still left ‘loop holes’ which could be exploited by extremists
-The coalition system failed to produce governments which had to support mechanism to cope with problems in Germany
-Parties still acted as interest groups representing their sectional interests rather than as national parties of government
-In the Reichstag election of May 1924 the nationalists and communists made significant gains at the expense of moderate parties
-Only 2/7 of the governments had majorities
Problems with the ‘Golden Period’: The SPD
-Until 1932 the SPD remained the biggest party in the Reichstag but due to internal differences (the party was split between those who were more extreme and those who wanted moderate reform) they didn’t join any coalition governments
-The SPD was committed to democracy but wasn’t pre parted to take on the responsibility of government in 1928
Problems with the ‘Golden Period’: President Hindenburg
-After his surprise election in 1925 there was no immediate swing to right wing politics as he seemed to be committed towards the constitution but did work to exclude the SPD from coalitions meaning that it was hard to find sustainable coalition
-By monarchists Hindenburg was seen as in effect fulfilling the role of sovereign—> gave the Republic some respectability in conservative circles
-Ultimately he was held responsible for the appointment of Hitler as chancellor but was very old and daily influenced by von Papen and Schliecher
Problems with the ‘Golden Period’: the DNVP
-Moved from being a broad party with coalition goals to a narrow and anti-republican party
-President Hindenburg made a conscious effort to have this party in every coalition government
Was there an economic recovery and a period of political stability? The introduction of a new currency and national back
The aim was to stabilise the economy and replace the worthless currency with the Retenmark. By November 1923 the Retenmark was established by Hjalamar Schacht
Pro- began to stabilise the economy
Was there an economic recovery and a period of political stability? Cutting of expenditure
Aimed to massively reduce expenditure in order to reduce the deficit. Public employees were sacked predominately from the lower middle class- a reason why they started to vote Nazi??
Pros- reduced the deficit and showed the allies that they were starting to solve the situation
Cons- 700,000 people were sacked leading to a loss of support
Was there an economic recovery and a period of political stability? The Dawes Plan 1924
Was there an economic recovery and a period of political stability? The Young Plan 1929
Aimed to deal with the issue of reparations because after 1929 Germany would be forced to pay the reparations back at a higher rate. Germany would pay back 500million marks less a year with the payments increasing gradually. France agreed the leave the Rhineland 5 years early.
Pros- easier time scale to pay back the reparations (59 years)
Cons- Germany still didn’t want to pay the reparations and the leader of the DNVP Hugenburg formed a referendum opposing the plan saying Germany was working with the enemy (this failed)
Was there an economic recovery and a period of political stability? Problems Germany didn’t deal with
-Food prices fell which led to widespread poverty on rural areas
-The unemployed stood at 3 million and extremist partied would manipulate them (Nazi slogan was “bread and work”
-Employers wanted the influence they had before the war and so attacked labour rights. Unions demanded higher wages and employers fought it. There was even more tension in the Reichstag because the SPD took the side of the workers and the DVP supported the employers making coalitions harder to form.
Stresemann’s aims as chancellor and as foreign minister
-Freeing Germany from the limitations of the Versailles Treaty
- Improving Franco-German relations
- Attracting US investment
- Maintaining good relations with the USSR but avoid a full scale alliance
-Encouraging peace and co-operations with the Western Powers
and trying to build Germany as a power
Stresemann’s actions to try and fulfil his aims: Locarno Treaties to solve the issue of French occupation
1925- A series of treaties which recognised Germany’s western boarders and demilitarised the Rhineland. Germany was encouraged to take an active role in the talks. It stopped a potential French annexation of the Rhineland and the Ruhr.
Stresemann’s actions to try and fulfil his aims: The League of Nations and Germany’s exclusion
It was agreed that Germany would have a permanent position on the League of Nations in 1926. It outlawed war as an instrument of national policy. No practical outcome but it did mean Germany could work with other nations
Stresemann’s actions to try and fulfil his aims: The Russo-German agreements to solve the restrictions placed on Germany at Versailles
Aimed to keep relations positive. Germany was prepared to work with other nations and that Germany was beginning to break free from its position as the poor man of Europe by ignoring the West’s requests to break off ties with the East. Opened up commercial expansion in the East. The Treaty of Berlin in 1926 pledged German and Soviet neutrality
Weimar Welfare
-Early successes cam in Nov 1918 when worker won an agreement to 8 hour days
-Considerable advances were made in social services, improved hospitals and schools, roads, electricity supply
-Social insurance schemes were extended to help over 17 million workers if they became unemployed
-High taxation and redistribution of resources away from the elite affected their attitude towards the Republic
-Attempts to cut workers wages
-Complaints by employers over arbitration wages which were put in place to help maintain working support votes for the Republic
-1928 in the Ruhr, industrialists locked out 250,000 workers in a clear attempt to break the power of the unions and defeat compulsory arbitration- the typified the growing tension between employers and workers
Weimar culture
-Neue Sachlichkeit (modernist): the music of Schonberg was a significant departure for tradition. The theatre and cinema were dominated by plays which reflect new social issues- many reflected the disappointment in Weimar to create a new political culture
-Conservative art (traditionalist): themes such as comedy, fantasy, nostalgia, mythology and Charlie Chaplin were hugely popular and a direct contract to Neue Sachlichkeit. In literature many writers focused on nostalgia, escapism and romanticism of pre-war times.
How did Germany react to cultural experimentation?
-It is probable that more Germans reacted against the new culture
-It 1926 the Reichstag passed a law to protect the youth from pulp fiction and pornography and drew up lists of publications not to be sold to the under 18’s
-Public spending cuts form 1929 onwards affected the arts and local governments withdrew subsidies from avant-garde production
How significant was cultural experimentation in weakening the Weimar Republic?
-In the long term it was significant because it helped develop later cultural developments which were embraced
-But in the short term many Germans blamed the government for allowed traditional German culture to be undermined
-Both the right and the left (mainly the right) attacked the Republic calling it grey and uninspiring
-Weimar culture reinforced many peoples hostility to the regime because elements of it signified all that was wrong with the regime
How much did workers pay increase by between 1924-29
Workers pay increases by 37.5%
between 1924-9
What happened to German exports
After the war German exports did recover at a considerable rate. There was an expansion of
manufacturing and investment in industry and the fact
German products were relatively inexpensive overseas
How much was recieved in 1924 in the dawes plan
1924 - $800 million received in US loans (Dawes Plan)
How much did Germany receive in comparison to what they paid in loans and reperations
Between 1924 and 1928 Germany received 16,000 million marks in loans and only paid 7000 million marks in reparations. The government was able to invest the additional
How was the German economy rebooted
The renewal of the German economy under the new currency, the Rentenmark, and massive investment from US financial institutions, drove a resurgence of German
How much was the chemical industry producing
1925 - Chemical industry producing one-third more than in 1913
