Recovery of the Republic Flashcards
Who is German recovery from hyperinflation largely credited to?
Gustav Stresemenn
What was the Dawes plan?
Introduced by Stresemenn, carried out in 1924.
Reparations would begin at 1 billion marks at the end of the year, and increase to 2.5 billion a year over a period of 4 years. This was far more manageable for Germany to pay.
Ruhr area to be evacuated by Allied occupation. Carried out in 1925
German Reichsbank would be reorganised under Allied Supervision
USA would give loans to Germany to help its recovery
Why were the Ruhr passive resistance called off?
Called of by Stressemen to help stop hyperinflation as money was being printed with less gold equally worth it
How was the Rentenmark significant?
Introduced by Stressemen in 1923. Rentenmark was tied to German land so actually had real value.
Renamed and given to Reichsbank in 1924 and stopped hyperinflation
What was the 1929 Young Plan?
Introduced by Stressemen.
Proposed to lower the reparations Germany had to pay
Planned to reduce total reparations from £6.6billion to £2billion and the payments would continue till 1988 (59 year extension)
Why was the Young Plan not successful?
1929 America’s Wall Street Crash lead to American banks having to recall loans to Europe, resulting in the Young plan’s effectivesness decreasing.
1933, 4 years after the Crash, world trade had fallen by 60%. This stopped any chance of German success through exporting (Selling to other countries)
Who criticised the Young Plan?
Adolf Hitler and other right-wing politicians who objected to any futher payment of reparations
How effective was the Stressemen era (1924-29) in recovery of the republic?
PROS:
1928 saw higher industrial production levels than 1913
1925-29, exports rose 40%
1927, Weimar set up a number of pension, health and unemployment schemes for the public
CONS:
Economic recovery depended on American loans
Unemployment was still a big problem in Germany
Trade deficit (more money spent on imports than made from exports)
How did the Stressemen recovery affect workplaces/workers
- Wages increases
- Average working day remained 8 hours
- fewer strikes 1924-29
What were Stressemen’s key foreign policy achievements?
Locarno-Pact
Leauge of Nations
Kellogg-Briand Pact
What was in the Locarno Pact 1925
An agreement between England, France, Italy and Belgium
- Stressemen created this in to co-operate with France & Britainto make the ToV more lenient (especially reparations)
- demilitarisation of Rhineland
Lead to co-operation between France and England know as the “Locarno Honeymoon”
What was the 1926 League of Nations
International peace-keeping body which US invited Germany to have a permanent seat on the council in 1926
- used to bring about Young Plan
- confirmed Germany’s return to “Great Power” status
What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928?
Germany and 62 other countries agreed to give up arms and not go to war to resolve disagreements by “peaceful means”
-further improved relations between the USA and the leading European nations
What was the Treaty of Rapallo 1922
Improved German-Russia relations
-Allowed Germany to train with tanks using Russian camps without Britain, USA knowing under the ToV
Internal Threats that still existed after the achievements
- german public still resented ToV and League of Nations
- Communist parties and Nazi parties still existed, but dropped in support
