Stresemann and Weimar successes 1924 to 1929 summary and study guide

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Stresemann and Weimar successes 1924 to 1929 summary and study guide

Stresemann and Weimar successes 1924 to 1929

Stresemann
In September 1923 Gustav Stresemann was appointed Chancellor and immediately called off the general strike in the Ruhr. This helped to put the economy back on track. He also scrapped the old mark and introduced a new interim currency – the Rentenmark. This stabilised the currency and prices and allowed a new permanent currency to be introduced the following year – the Reichsmark. He got the army on his side by removing extreme Socialists in Saxony and Thurlinga – this made them more willing to put down revolts by right wing Nationalists and Nazis. In November 1923 he approved the Dawes Plan – this put in place a new plan for repaying reparations and gave Germany new loans from America which allowed Germany to rebuild her economic base.

The effects of 1923
Pensions were worth less and unemployment increased – there were also many bankruptcies. But those who had lots of money tied up in land (the rich) or did not have any money at all (the poor) were not effected. It was those in the middle classes who lost everything that they had – those whose support was necessary for the Republic to survive.

Weimar successes 1924 – 29; Stresemann
He was only Chancellor for six months (the Communists and Social Democrats thought he was too conservative and the nationalist thought that he was too Socialist) but he remained the most important politician in the country until his death in 1929 – this coincided with the Republics biggest crisis.

Weimar successes 1924 – 29; The Locarno Treaty of 1925
Germany agreed its western borders with France, Belgium and Italy – this made her neighbour happy and willing to negotiate on the issue of reparations.

Weimar successes 1924 – 29; The League of Nations 1926
Initially Germany had been forbidden to join the new League of Nations – in 1926 Stresemann negotiated that Germany could join and have a seat on the council. This showed Germany as rejoining the club of major powers.

Weimar successes 1924 – 29; The Young Plan
This was a final settlement on the issue of reparations – as a result the allies pulled their troops out of the Rhineland.

Political problems
No party was ever able to win a majority in the Reichstag but the Social Democrats were usually the largest party. There were 25 governments in 14 years this system led to unstable coalition governments which fell apart quickly.

The Reichstag contained many political parties which wanted to bring down the republic – when their strength grew the republic got weaker. The Nationalists and Nazis thought that Stresemann was too weak on the Communists and the Communists wanted rid of the republic completely.

In 1925 Hindenburg was elected President – he had been a General in WW1 and a critic of the Republic. This showed how weak its support amongst ordinary people was. He even asked permission off the Kaiser to stand for election.

In 1928 the Social Democrats entered government for the first time in 1923 with a substantial vote from the middle class – a good sign.

The economy
In 1924 the Dawes Plan gave Germany $800 000 000 to invest in her economy – this allowed it to recover to beyond 1914 levels by 1928. Yet the economy still had weaknesses – it depended upon US loans which could be withdrawn at any time. Unemployment was still growing albeit slowly – people objected to spending money on the idle unemployed. There were extremes of poverty and wealth – too much money and power was concentrated in a small group of industrialists.

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