The Recovery of the Republic, 1924-29 Flashcards
Describe the Role of Gustav Stresemann
-In August 1923, Ebert appointed Stresemann as his new chancellor and foreign secretary.
-He resigned his chancellorship in November 1923 but remained as foreign secretary until 1929.
-Stresemann’s most important work was in economic and foreign policy. However, his main objective was to make the political situation in Germany stable.
Describe Gustav Stresemann’s Strategy
-Stresemann hoped that by stabilising the economy and regaining respect for Germany in foreign affairs, Germans would feel more content with the Weimar Republic.
-This way, he hoped to unite most Germans behind moderate political parties and reduce the support for extreme political parties.
Describe the Purpose of the Rentenmark
-In November 1923, Stresemann set up a new state owned bank, the Rentenbank. This issued new currency- the Rentenmark.
-The supply of these notes was strictly limited. Their value was tied to the price of gold and they were backed by German industrial plants and agricultural land.
-Therefore, the currency had real value. Unlike the old mark, people trusted it.
Describe the Success of the Rentenmark
-In August 1924, a newly independent national bank, the Reichsbank was given control of this new currency. It was renamed the Reichsmark and was backed by Germany’s gold reserves.
-German money was now trusted at home and abroad, and hyperinflation was at an end. Unfortunately, it could not bring back the losses of those people ruined by hyperinflation.
-This was a much stronger basis for the recovery of German businesses and improvements to employment.
Describe the Dawes Plan
-Charles Dawes, an American banker had been asked by the Allies to resolve Germany’s non-payment of reparations. In April 1924, Stresemann agreed to the Dawes plan.
-Under this plan, reparations were temporarily reduced to £50 million per year. US banks also agreed to give loans to German industry. They loaned $25 billion between 1924 and 1930.
-This combined package reassured the Allies that they would get their reparations payments.
-Stresemann had already called off German workers’ passive resistance in the Ruhr. As a result, the French agreed to leave the Ruhr.
Describe the Impact of the Dawes Plan
-The Dawes plan improved the Weimar Republic’s economy, much to the benefit of working and middle class Germans.
-Industrial output doubled between 1923 and 1928 passing pre First World War levels. Employment, trade and income from taxation also increased.
-Most Germans were reassured and this strengthened the Weimar Republic. However, there were some drawbacks.
-The extreme political parties were furious that Germany had again agreed to pay reparations. Furthermore, the fragile economic recovery depended on American loans.
Describe the Young Plan
-Stresemann made further progress with reparations when he agreed the The Young Plan.
-The plan was put forward by a committee in August 1929, set up by the Allies and was headed by an American banker called Owen Young.
-The Young Plan reduced the total reparations debt from £6.6 billion to £2 billion. Germany was also given a further 59 years to pay.
Describe the Benefits and Drawbacks of the Young Plan
-The annual payments were still £50 million per year. Furthermore, they now stretched out until 1988.
-Lower reparations payments allowed the government to lower taxes on ordinary German people. Lower taxes released public spending power.
-This boosted German industry and created more jobs; these jobs boosted spending power and this boosted industry and employment again. This is a ‘virtuous cycle’ of economic growth’.
-Linked to the Young Plan, the French agreed to leave the Rhineland in 1930.
Describe the Impact of the Young Plan
-The extreme political parties were incensed. Adolf Hitler said that extending the length of the repayments was ‘passing on the penalty to the unborn’.
-The benefits of the Young Plan increased the confidence of Germans in the Weimar Republic. Most Germans saw the Young Plan as a success for Stresemann.
-A referendum held in 1929 resulted in 35 million Germans in favour of the Young Plan- about 85% of those who voted.
Describe the Locarno Pact
-On 1 December 1925, Stresemann signed the Locarno Pact. This was a Treaty between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium.
-Unlike Versailles, Locarno was agreed by Germany, on equal terms with the other powers- it was not imposed upon Germany.
-Germany accepted its new 1919 border with France, and France promised peace with Germany.
-Germany and the Allies agreed that the Rhineland would be permanently demilitarised.
-The five powers agreed to open talks about German membership of the League of Nations.
Describe the Impact of the Locarno Pact
-It made war in Europe less likely. Stresemann was even given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926.
-Germany was being treated as an equal, This was a boost to the prestige of the Weimar Republic.
-It also increased the confidence of many Germans in the moderate political parties who supported Stresemann.
-However, not all political parties in Germany agreed- some extreme parties resented that the hated Versailles borders had been confirmed.
Describe German Admission to the League of Nations
-At the end of the First World War, the Allies had founded the League of Nations.
-This was a new international body in which powerful countries discussed ways of solving the world’s problems without resorting to war. Initially, Germany was excluded.
-In September 1926, Stresemann persuaded the other great powers to accept Germany as a member.
-Germany was given a place on the League of Nations Council, which took the most important decisions of the League.
Describe the Impact of Germany’s Admission to the League of Nations
-Again, this was a boost to the moderate parties who supported Stresemann. It also boosted the confidence of most Germans in the Weimar Republic.
-However, not all political parties agreed. To some, the League of Nations was a symbol of the hated Treaty of Versailles and they wanted nothing to do with it.
Describe the Kellogg-Briand Pact
-In August 1928, Germany and 61 other countries signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This pact promised that states would not use war to achieve foreign policy aims.
-It was the work of two French and US foreign ministers, and was named after them. The USA was not in the League of Nations and saw this as a way to assist peace.
Describe the Impact of the Kellogg-Briand Pact
-In contrast to the Treaty if Versailles, it showed that Germany was now included amongst the main powers, not dictated to by them.
-It was also another sign that the Weimar Republic was now a respected, stable state.
-This was another boost to the prestige of the Weimar Republic in the eyes of the German public.
-It increased confidence that the moderate political parties could be trusted to make Germany strong.
-However, the pact did nothing to remove the hated terms of the Treaty of Versailles which still restricted German strength with reparations, lost land and military restrictions.
