Impact of Great Depression

Question 1

The Wall Street Crash

Answer 1

October 1929
Wall Street stock market crashed
thousands of firms and banks in the USA went bankrupt
US withdrew loans and investments from around the world as a result, such as the Young plan loan
In 1920 it put protectionist tariffs on trade

Question 2

Impact of the Wall Street Crash

Answer 2

world trade fell by more than 60% in 1930
total wealth of nations (GDP) fell by 15%
- catastrophic global fall in demand

Question 3

Impact of the Great Depression - unemployment

Answer 3

• rose from 600,000 in 1928 to 1,000,000 in 1929
• had doubled by 1930, going to 3,000,000
• at 6,000,000 by 1933
• industrial areas such as Thuringia were hit especially badly, illustrating regional variation
• people lost their sources of income, meaning many more were in poverty
• crop prices fell by up to 60% as poverty reduced demand

Question 4

Efforts by the government to combat depression

Answer 4

legal restrictions - impossible for Reichsbank to print more money, in order to prevent inflation
spending of governments was cut back as tax revenue fell
coalitions couldn’t agree where cuts should be made
war victims pensions were cut by a third between 1928 and 1933, angering many
protectionism was pursued by Brüning, raising cost of imports

Question 5

Impact of the Great Depression - Bankruptcy

Answer 5

• 18,000 farmers and 50,000 businesses had gone bankrupt by 1932
• five major banks closed down in 1931

Question 6

Impact of the Great Depression - Political extremism

Answer 6

the SPD-led Coalition collapsed in 1930 over failure to agree where cuts in welfare budget should be made, leading to a reduced belief in democracy
- dissatisfied with the Weimar Republic, many turned to radical solutions to their problems

Question 7

Impact of the Great Depression - Recalled loans

Answer 7

greatest withdrawal of investments from Germany - late September 1930, partly due to the success of extremist parties in the election
Without loans, Germany was plunged unto the Great Depression, which hit the middle classes hard
industry and agriculture relied on loans, and German banks couldn’t find anymore money
As well as this, Germany still had to pay reparations