the recovery of Germany 1924-1929

Question 1

who was Gustav Stresemann and what were his policies?

Answer 1

Gustav Stresemann: Both Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Germany. He helped negotiate and brought in many measures to help the dire economic, political and foreign policy problems.
In particular, Stresemann’s Policy of Fulfilment - the attempt to fulfil all the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in the hope that Britain and France would make significant compromises, leading eventually to the destruction of the Treaty.

Question 2

economic recovery in the 1920s

Answer 2

Economic Recovery:

1. Dawes Plan
   - Spread the reparations payments over a longer period making them easier to repay and so less strain on Germany’s economy
   - USA loaned Germany 800 million marks which was invested into German industry, creating more jobs and more trade. This would lead to more profit and matched its pre-war levels of production by 1928.
2. Hyperinflation

New currency was introduced and this built a stable platform from which Germany could further recover.

Question 3

(5) failure to recover economically in the 1920s

Answer 3

Failure to Recover:

• Loans could be recalled causing the ruin of Germany
• Middle Class and farmers had high mortgages but little business as well as overproducing.
• Unemployment on the rise due to a population boom.
• Large department stores owned by majoratively Jews caused a peak in Antisemitism.
• Reduction in pay

Question 4

political recovery in the 1920s

Answer 4

Political Recovery

Politics became more strong and stable in this period as more people were backing the government and placing their trust in the system.

1. The Grand Coalition of 1923:
   This was a coalition between moderate pro-democracy parties and the SPD and meant that the government could finally pass laws and govern the country. It also showed that they had the support of the middle classes and that proportional representation could be effective.
2. No more attempted coups and voting for radical parties such as the NSDAP, which gained <3% meant Government could focus on problems at hand.

Question 5

failure to recover politically in the 1920s

Answer 5

Failure to Recover

Four different chancellors from 1924-29 suggested a lack of stability. In 1926, Hindenburg a former army general and very right-wing opponent was elected.

also this was the time when the Nazis organised themselves and adopted a legal approach

Question 6

foreign policy recovery during the 1920s

Answer 6

Foreign Policy:

-In 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties with Britain, France and Italy. They guaranteed Germany’s Frontiers with France and Belgium. As a result Germany was accepted into the League of Nations, which gave it a status of great power.

From there it could also reverse the Treaty of Versailles, particularly considering reparations and the eastern frontiers.

-In 1929, Stresemann had negotiated the Young Plan, which lightened the reparations burden and led to the final removal of troops from the Rhine area.

Question 7

failure to recover in respect to foreign policies in the 1920s

Answer 7

Failure to Recover:

• Nationalists attacked Stresemann for joining the League of Nations and for signing the Locarno Pact, seeing it as an acceptance of the TofV. - did not like his policy of fulfillment
• Communists saw it as a plot against the USSR.

Question 8

two effects of Germany’s cultural recovery

Answer 8

The cultural developments during the Weimar period on the people of Germany

1. German provincial people felt that the city and its new progressive attitudes showed a moral decline. They were especially sceptical of American immigrants, Jewish artists and musicians. Many organisations such as the wandervogel wanted to return to traditional values as they felt this new art was undermining traditional German values and focus more on the countryside rather than the city. These feeling were later harnessed by the nazis who used them to gain support.
2. It also however lead to a greater acceptance of different kinds of people such as people with different sexual identities especially in the cities. Women were also freer to wear and do what they wanted as they were not restricted by traditional German beliefs and stereotypes. For example in Berlin transvestite nightclubs opened and many women felt free to wear mini skirts and other more revealing clothes.