To what extent were 1924-1929 the Golden Years of Weimar?

Question 1

What was the Dawes Plan and when was it?

Answer 1

-lowered the reparations Germany had to pay depending on their economy for the first 5 years of payments->America loaned Germany money to help them be able to pay->led to the somewhat recovery of Germany
-1924

Question 2

What did Stresemann think about Germany’s recovery during the Golden Years?

Answer 2

-he thought Germany was ‘dancing on a volcano’
-the economy seemed to be going well during the Golden Years but he thought it would collapse again
-this is true because of the Wall Street Crash ending the Golden Years in 1929

Question 3

What were the positive and negative impacts of Stresemann cutting government expenditure and sacking over 700,000 public employees?

Answer 3

+helped the government have more money
-700,000 people were now unemployed

Question 4

What were the positive and negative impacts of the introduction of the Rentenmark by Schacht (financial expert)? When?

Answer 4

-August 1923
+solved hyperinflation
-many people lost their savings ->caused lots of poverty due to not getting compensated

Question 5

What were the positive and negative impacts of the Dawes Plan? When was it?

Answer 5

-April 1924
+lowered the reparations Germany had to pay based on what year and Germany’s economic stability at the time->allowed them to recover
-France and Belgium had to wait to get the money from Germany which would help them pay for damage ->tension

Question 6

What was the Young Plan and when was it?

Answer 6

-June 1929
-reduced Germany’s reparations from ______
-it was payable over 58 years

Question 7

What were the positive and negative impacts of the Young Plan? When was it?

Answer 7

-August 1929
+it meant that Germany could pay reparations over 58 years and also reduced the reparations
-it was still a lot of money for Germany to pay back and Germany was just recovering from hyperinflation

Question 8

What was Germany’s foreign policy aims?

Answer 8

-to free them from the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles and restore the country to the status of great power
-offensive action was ruled about and the only option was diplomacy

Question 9

What was the Locarno Conference and when was it?

Answer 9

-October 1925
-mutual guarantee agreement which accepted Franco-German and Belgium borders
-all 5 countries (Britain and Italy) renounced the use of force except in self-defence
-demilitarisation of the Rhineland was made permanent
-an arbitration treaty between Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia agreed to settle future disputes peacefully

Question 10

What were the positive and negative impacts of the Locarno Conference? When was it?

Answer 10

-October 1929
+allowed Germany to keep existing borders between Germany, Belgium and France
-Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia agreed to settle further disputes peacefully
+Germany agreed not to use forces
-Demilitarisation of the Rhineland was made permanent

Question 11

When did Germany join the League of Nations?

Answer 11

-1926

Question 12

What were the positive and negative impacts of Germany joining the League of Nations?

Answer 12

+meant that they were involved in decision making and were at peace with other countries
-extremist parties were angered as they saw it as an extension of the Treaty of Versailles

Question 13

What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact and when was it?

Answer 13

-August 1928
-outlawed war as an instrument of national policy

Question 14

What were the positive and negative impacts of the Kellogg-Briand Pact? When was it?

Answer 14

-August 1928
+could build Germany’s international strength and standing
+agreed not to use war to end international distributes
-not all Germans agreed with it because it didn’t remove all the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles

Question 15

When did allies evacuate Rhineland earlier than intended in return for final settlement of the reparation issue?

Answer 15

1929

Question 16

What were the positive and negative impacts of allies evacuating Rhineland earlier than intended in return for final settlement of the reparation issue? When?

Answer 16

-1929
+resulted in the Young Plan ->further revisited the scheme of payments
-total sum of the reparations bill was reduced to £1850million->only 1/4 of the figure was demanded in 1921->wasn’t reduced as much as Stresemann hoped it would be

Question 17

when was the Treaty of Berlin with USSR?

Answer 17

-April 1926

Question 18

What were the positives and negatives of the Treaty of Berlin with the USSR?

Answer 18

+reaffirmed the German-Soviet Treaty of Rapallo
+increased military cooperation
+opened up the possibility for a large commercial market
-placed even more pressure on Poland to give way to German demands about frontier changes

Question 19

What was the positives and negatives of improving provision of welfare state to create a more equal society?

Answer 19

+more equality between men and women
-people didn’t like the idea of women working or having a life outside of their home

Question 20

Who was the financial minister and what were his aims?

Answer 20

-Erzberger
-aimed to offset the costs by implementing a series of progressive taxes eg increasing taxes on capital and in the highest income tax from 4%->60%

Question 21

What were the positives and negatives of finance minister Erzberger’s aims with tax?

Answer 21

+taxes fixed people’s income so it could be easier to pay
-there was more tax for the rich to pay which would make them dislike the government even more

Question 22

When was Stresemann made Chancellor?

Answer 22

-August 1923

Question 23

What were the positives and negatives of Stresemann becoming Chancellor?

Answer 23

+he was seen as a saviour because he helped improve the economy
-there were many challenges Germans were facing and Stresemann had a lot to try and solve

Question 24

When was the Muller’s Grand Coalition and what did it do?

Answer 24

-May 1928
-formed the SPD, DDP, DVP and ZP

Question 25

What were the positive and negatives of the Muller’s Grand Coalition?

Answer 25

+parties had a lot more of a say in the Reichstag and it was supported by over 60% of the Reichstag
-opportunities to form workable coalitions were very limited

Question 26

What was the SDP?

Answer 26

-until 1923 was the largest party in the Reichstag
-divided between its desire to uphold the interests of the working class and its commitment to democracy
-from 1920-1928 it didn’t join any fragile coalitions->weakened power base for democratic coalitions 1924-1928

Question 27

What were the positives and negatives of the SDP?

Answer 27

+until 1923 it remained the largest party in the Reichstag
-divided in desire/want for the country->indecisive->some wanted to help the working class and some wanted to focus on upholding the democracy they promised to the allies

Question 28

What was the Centre Party (ZP)?

Answer 28

-had solid support
-participated in all coalition governments 1919-1932
-appeal restricted to traditional Catholic areas
-in the 1920s there was divisions within the party
-1928->leadership passed to Ludwig Kaas and Heinrich Bruning
->appealed more to conservative partners of the coalition->worrying sign for the future of the party

Question 29

What were the positives and negatives of the Centre Party (ZP)?

Answer 29

+provided real political leadership
+participation in all the coalition governments from 1919-1932
-its support did not increase because its appeal was restricted to traditional Catholic areas
-social and economic policies aimed at bridging the gaps between the classes but it led to internal quarrels
-1928->leadership passed to Ludwig Kaas and Heinrich Bruning
->appealed more to conservative partners of the coalition->worrying sign for the future of the party

Question 30

What were the literal parties?

Answer 30

-DDP and DVP

Question 31

What was the liberal parties?

Answer 31

-DDP and DVP joined all the coalition governments in the period (Stresemann had been leader of the DVP)
-became less popular->share of the vote dropped from 22% in 1920 to 14% by 1928
-internal disputes over policy

Question 32

Who had been the leader of the DVP?

Answer 32

-Stresemann

Question 33

What was the DVP?

Answer 33

-German Peoples Party

Question 34

What were the positives and negatives of the liberal parties?

Answer 34

+votes were constant in the mid 1920s
-votes halved by 1928 in just 8 years
-DVP was divided
-DDP lacked clear leadership

Question 35

What were the positives and negatives of the DNVP?

Answer 35

+in December 1924 they gained 103 seats (20.5%)
+1925 and 1927->they joined government coalitions
-the continuous opposition policy meant that the party had no real power and achieved nothing
-worked closely with the Nazis against the Young Plan due to dislike of Hindenburg
-in 1928 the election vote dropped by 25%

Question 36

When did Ebert die?

Answer 36

-February 1925

Question 37

What was the impact of Ebert dying?

Answer 37

-Hindenburg made President
-was loyal to the Republic but surrounded himself with anti-Republican figures from the military
-his views moved the government more right leaning

Question 38

What were the positives and negatives of Ebert dying?

Answer 38

+Hindenburg->loyal to the constitution and carried out his presidential duties with correctness
-views moved the government more right leaning
-created more political problems
->no clear successor in the first round of elections so a second round was held
-Hindenburg had no real sympathy for the Republic or it’s values

Question 39

What does ‘Neue Sachlichkeit’ mean?

Answer 39

-‘new practically’ when referring to cultural developements

Question 40

What were the positives and negatives of ‘Neue Sachlichkeit’?

Answer 40

+some Germans could enjoy and appreciate the cultural experimentation
-most Germans were horrified by what they saw as the decline in established moral and cultural standards

Question 41

What were the positives and negatives about art?

Answer 41

+spread opinions and views about living in Germany at the time
-could spread negative aspects which could make the government unpopular

Question 42

What was the Bauhaus movement in relation to architecture?

Answer 42

-emphasised the close relationship between art and technology

Question 43

What were the positives and negatives of the Bauhaus movement in architecture?

Answer 43

+Bauhaus design is linked very closely with the ideas of modernism and the forward looking and forward thinking designs
-it was profoundly revisited among more conservative circles

Question 44

What were the positives and negatives of the theatre and literature?

Answer 44

+flourishing focus on everyday life
+brought more awareness and showed everyday life
-many didn’t like the European art styles and theatre->preferred a more Germany style
-used more controversial methods to portray characters

Question 45

What were the positives and negatives of mass culture and consumerism (film, radio and cabaret)?

Answer 45

+helped people to connect and helped news spread
-propaganda
-meant that extremist groups could have changes to speak out more about their beliefs