Weimer Recovery Flashcards
Who was Stresemann ?
He was Chancellor in 1923 and Foreign Minister from 1923-29. Between 1924 and 1929, German citizens came to accept the Weimar Republic, and so did international powers.
Stopping hyperinflation
To help stop hyperinflation, Stresemann called off passive (non-violent) resistance in the Ruhr.
In November 1923, Stresemann set up a new currency called the ‘Rentenmark’.
Unlike the previous currency, Rentenmark was tied to the price of German land and held real value.
In August 1924, this currency was renamed the Reichsmark and placed under the control of the Reichsbank. With this new currency, hyperinflation was stopped.
The Dawes Plan, 1924
The Dawes Plan led to the French and Belgian troops’ evacuation of the Ruhr region
Stresemann helped negotiate the Dawes Plan, which helped Germany pay their reparations (payments to the victors).
In 1924, Banks in the US loaned 800 million Reichsmarks to German industries.
Reparation instalments (fixed regular payments) were temporarily made £50 million a year.
The Young Plan, 1929
Stresemann next negotiated the Young Plan, which proposed to reduce German reparations (payments to the victors).
In 1929, the Young Plan planned to lower the total reparations from £6.6 billion to £2 billion.
The payments would continue until 1988.
The Wall Street Crash and the Young Plan
a major stock market crash in the United States which began in late October 1929 with a sharp decline in prices on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
The Wall St Crash abruptly stopped the Young Plan in 1929.
American banks had to recall loans made to Europe, undermining (reducing the effectiveness of) the Young Plan.
By 1933, 4 years after the Wall St Crash, world trade had fallen by over 60%. This got rid of any chance of German success through exporting (selling to other countries).
German exports had risen 40% between 1925 and 1929.
Economic recovery
To an extent, the economy did recover.
By 1928, industrial production levels were higher than they were in 1913.
Between 1925 and 1929, exports rose by 40%.
In 1927, the Weimar Republic set up a number of pension, health and unemployment schemes to help German society.
The insecurity of the economy
But the economy was not completely secure.
Economic recovery depended on American loans.
Unemployment was still a big problem for Germany.
Germany spent more money on imports than they received on exports, a ‘trade deficit’.
Foreign policy achievements
Stresemann’s key foreign policy achievements were the Locarno Pact, League of Nations and Kellogg-Briand Pact.
Because of his domestic (at home) and foreign achievements, the German population became more confident in the Weimar Republic.
Their support for extremist parties, such as the Communists and Nazis, weakened.
Locarno Pact, 1925
In 1925, Germany signed an agreement with Great Britain, France, Italy and Belgium called the Locarno Pact.
In this pact, Germany recognised their borders with France and the demilitarisation (withdrawing military from an area) of the Rhineland.
aimed to secure peace and stability in Western Europe
League of Nations, 1926
In 1926, Germany was invited to join the League of Nations.
US president Woodrow Wilson set up the League of Nations, which was an international peacekeeping body.
aimed at promoting international cooperation and achieving peace and security
Kellogg-Briand Pact, 1928
In 1928, Germany signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact with 62 other countries.
In this pact, countries agreed to disarm (give up or reduce armed forces) and not use war to resolve disagreements.
The Treaty of Rapallo, 1922
The 1922 Treaty of Rapallo improved German-Russian relations.
Curiously the Russian Communists agreed to allow the German army, the Reichswehr, to use Russian training camps which the USA, Britain, and France could not discover. This would allow the German army to train with tanks, banned under the Treaty of Versailles.
Internal threats to the Weimar Republic
Despite the achievements, the Weimar Republic still faced potential threats.
The German population still resented (felt bitter about) the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.
Although support for extreme left and right-wing parties had declined, the Communist and Nazi Parties still existed.
