Stresemann Years 1924-29 Flashcards
When was the Dawes Plan accepted?
Aug 1924
When is Hindenburg elected president?
April 1925
When are the Locarno treaties signed
Oct 1925
When does Germany join the League of Nations?
Sept 1926
When is the commercial treaty signed between Germany and France?
Aug 1927
Which election seen the Nationalist vote increase?
May 1924
Which election sees the socialist vote increase?
May 1928
When does the military evacuation of the Rhineland begin?
Sept 1929
When does Stresemann die?
Oct 1929
When is the Young Plan accepted?
Dec 1929
What position did Stresemann hold during this period
Foreign Minister
How was this period RELATIVELY stable?
Absence of attempts of extra-Parliamentary action in contrast to 1919-23
Why did the parliamentary system fail to mature/develop?
Parties as interest groups
Pre-1914 not all parties had experience of forming goes / compromise to create viable govs
What was the largest party on the right during this period?
Nationalist DNVP
How many seats did the DNVP and SPD win in the May 1924 elections
DNVP = 95
SPD = 100 (-71 seats)
What did the Dawes Plan (1924) propose? 3 things
Reparations paid over longer period of time
Credit advanced to help rebuild German economy
French to leave the Ruhr
How did the Dawes Plan (1924) get through the Reichstag? what effect did this have?
Supported by Nationalist DNVP
Led to other factions of the coalition to withdraw their support (DDP and Centre)
What effect did the passing of the Locarno treaties (1925) have on government?
Not supported by DNVP (in coalition)
Passed due to SPD support (out of coalition)
Led to collapse of government
What effect did the SPD’s refusal to collaborate w/ other parties have on the Republic?
Rejection of political responsibility –> weakened process of democracy –> contradicted concept of representation and accountability
PLAYED INTO THE HANDS OF OPPONENTS AND WEAKENED ITS POLITICAL LEGITIMACY
What effect did Hindenburg’s election have on SPD governmental participation?
made worse –> attempted to exclude SPD from all coalitions
Why did Hindenburg win the Presidency?
split in anti-Right vote
How did Hindenburg limit the possibility of ‘grand coalitions’ that covered the political spectrum? give an example
Often insisted on the inclusion of the nationalist DNVP
- 4th Marx government (1927) included DNVP
Give an example that demonstrates that Hindenburg believed the President’s powers should be unrestrained
Blocked a draft law (1926) that sought to define the use of Article 48
When was Luther’s minority coalition formed, when did it break down?
Which parties were in it?
Jan - May 1926
Centre, DVP, DNVP
Why did Luther’s minority coalition fail?
Vote of no-confidence after it gave the diplomatic corps to use the old imperial flag
Why was the May 1928 election an important turning point?
SPD prepared to form a coalition –> political polarisation that had occurred made this prospect impossible
How many seats did the SPD and KPD gain in the May 1928 elections?
SPD = +131
KPD = +45
Other than the SPD and KPD, who else saw their vote increase? (May 1928) give an example
SPLINTER PARTIES
e.g. Bauernbund +23 seats (farming interest)
What did the Young Plan (1929) propose? 3 points
germany to pay reparations until 1988
to pay 2,000 mil marks /year rather than 2,500 as laid out by Dawes Plan (1924)
French promised to vac Rhineland by June 1930 (5 years ahead of schedule)
What was the significance of the Freedom Law? 2 things
Attempt to oppose the Young Plan
Increased stature of Hitler
When was the referendum for the Freedom Law held? What was its outcome
Dec 1929
Defeated and Young Plan passed
Why did Muller’s grand coalition collapse and when?
over unemployment benefits, 1930
How did the depression affect the government benefits system?
growing unemployment –> increasing strain on unemployment benefits system
How did foreign investment increase monetary stability?
Influx of foreign capital (Dawes Plan, 1924) = 25.5bil marks
Enabled reconstruction of economy
How did the delay of reparations increase monetary stability?
(stipulated by Dawes Plan) Stimulated inward capital investment –> industry experienced impressive growth rates
What was the national income in 1928 in comparison to 1913?
+12%
In what sense was this a period of economic stability, and how was it not?
Economic growth and currency stability
Unrest in industrial relations
How many were unemployed in late 1928?
What does this suggest about later economic problems?
1928 = 3mil / 15% of workforce unemployed
Later economic problems had their roots in supposed years of stability
In late 1928 what did the ironworks owners in the Ruhr do, and why?
Locked out +210,000 workers rather than accept the finding of arbitration that they had to pay higher wages
why from 1925 did the DVP refuse to collaborate w/ the SPD?
DVP fought on behalf of industrialists to oppose increasing unemployment insurance contribution
Which 2 laws passed in 1920 provided a framework of support upheld by the constitution?
The Reich Relief Law (1920)
Serious Disability Laws (1920)
In 1924 how was the system of claiming benefits improved?
System for claiming relief and assessing needs of the claimants was codified
By 1929 how much more was the state spending on housing than in 1913
33x more
between 1927-30 how many homes were built/renovated?
300,000
What was the effect of better health insurance? give 1 example
Reduction in deaths from certain diseases
1913 –> 119/10k people died from pneumonia
1928 –> 93/10k people died from pneumonia
How did the NATURE of women’s work change?
Growing number of women in new areas of employment e.g. civil service, teaching, or social work
What were the ATTITUDES towards women working? did they change in this period?
Generally conservative, no change
Condemnation of MARRIED working women
How did criticism of married working women worsen during depression? What law reflects this?
1932 law allowed the dismissal of married working women from the civil service
Through what law did the state attempt to improve the upbringing of the nations’s children?
What was wrong with it?
Reich Youth Law (1922) –> claimed the right of all children to a decent upbringing
Vague and difficult to fulfil in reality
What was the name of the new style unique to Weimar? What did 2 things did it stress?
Neue Sachlichkiet
Stress on objectivity and matter-of-factness
What movement was architecture dominated by? How was its influence shown?
Bauhaus movement
Design of new towns such as Weissenhof (1927) in Bauhaus style
What were common themes in theatre and cinema?
Social issues of the period
How was Neue Sachlichkiet used to criticise Weimar?
Used to expose weaknesses and injustices of Weimar society
What was a common theme in writing on the left and right?
alienation from Republic
How did the predominantly ‘conservative’ culture contrast w/ weimar culture? 2 points
Nostalgia and escapism contrasted w/ objectivity of Neue Sachlichkiet
Traditional tastes contrast w/ modernity of Bauhaus
How did the legacy of war create divisions in culture?
Popular anti-democratic ‘destiny’ novels that glorified WWI (Author Junger)
anti-war novels by Renn
Where did Weimar culture flourish?
Predominantly in cities such as Berlin and Munich
What was the Locarno treaty? when was it signed?
1925 - it agreed on Germany’s new borders and formally agreed peace between Ger, France, UK, Belgium, and Italy
When did Germany join the League of Nations?
1926
What was the significance of Germany joining the League of Nations (1926)?
enabled German diplomats to work from within its structure for a revision of the Versailles treaty
When was the Treaty of Berlin signed?
April 1926
What was the significance of the Treaty of Berlin (1926)?
Agreement w/ Russia -
reconfirmed the terms of Rapallo (1922)
agreed neutrality in the event of an attack by a 3rd power
prompted Allies into a more sympathetic approach
in Jan 1927 what did the Allies do?
Withdrew the IMCC which had been set up to oversee German disarmament
In late 1926 what did the Allies do?
withdrew 60,000 troops that occupied the Rhineland
What was signed between Germany and France in the late 1920s, what year exactly?
commercial treaty, 1927
Why was the Locarno treaty signed? (1925)
There was the possibility in 1924 that France would attempt to extent their occupation of the Rhineland on the issue of security
Give 3 examples of how German diplomatic influence was growing during this period
Absence of Locarno-style treaty for Germany’s eastern borders
Germany League of Nations (1926) gains permanent seat on council
Removal of IMCC (1927)
What were the 2 major benefits of the Dawes Plan (1924) other than the reorganisation of reparations?
Strengthened Germany’s industrial base
Better relations w/ USA –> improved trade
What 2 things did the Young Plan (1929) link together?
Evacuation of the Rhineland w/ the successful revision of the reparations programme
How many people voted in favour of the Freedom Law (1929)?
5.8mil
Over what did the 1925 Luther coalition break up over?
Treaty of Locarno
Why can these years only be referred to as 'relatively' stable? in regards to: Politics Economy Culture
Only relatively stable to the immediate and turbulent post-war years
Politics failed to mature/develop
Monetary stability disguised worsening industrial relations and growing unemployment
Cultural development undermined the Republic
How did the lack of room for manoeuvre affect Stresemann’s policy?
He had no other choice but to carry out a policy of fulfilment
