the Weimar economic crisis and recovery (1918-29)

Question 1

what economic crises did the government have to deal with?

Answer 1

social welfare
debt and reparations
the Ruhr
hyperinflation

Question 2

how was social welfare an issue for the Weimar economy?

Answer 2

the Weimar government was liberal so it set provided loans to former soldiers as well as pension payments for widows and orphans
this meant that the government was paying a lot for welfare

Question 3

how much of the population were receiving welfare payments?

Answer 3

10%

Question 4

by 1924 how many people were the government supporting financially?

Answer 4

2.5 million Germans

children, disabled, war widows

Question 5

how much did the government owe by 1918?

Answer 5

150 billion marks were borrowed for WW1

Question 6

what put Germany in further debt?

Answer 6

the reparations set out by the Treaty of Versailles

Question 7

until 1924, what did Germany pay reparations in?

Answer 7

wood
coal
railway carriages

Question 8

what did Germany do to deal with reparations?

Answer 8

print more money which led to a deeper state of inflation

Question 9

what was the London Ultimatum of 1921?

Answer 9

stated that if Germany failed to meet reparation payments by 1923, the allies would occupy the Ruhr

Question 10

why was the Ruhr so important for the German economy?

Answer 10

its coal and industries provided a major source of income for Germany

without it, Germany would lose a lot of money

Question 11

when did the French and Belgians occupy the Ruhr?

Answer 11

January 1923

Question 12

what was the response of the German govt to the occupation of the Ruhr?

Answer 12

they stopped paying reparation
they funded passive resistance

Question 13

what was passive resistance?

Answer 13

German workers in the Ruhr were instructed to work slower, strike more often and sabotage

Question 14

when was passive resistance ended?

Answer 14

September 1923 by Stresemann

Question 15

what had the occupation of the Ruhr lead to in Germany?

Answer 15

hyperinflation

Question 16

what had hyperinflation lead to the creation of?

Answer 16

a black market

Question 17

what happened to trust in currency?

Answer 17

the German people lost complete faith in the Mark

instead they looked to alternative currencies

Question 18

what alternative currencies were used?

Answer 18

bartering
Notgeld (emergency money)

Question 19

who profited from hyperinflation?

Answer 19

those with goods to sell

Question 20

who suffered from hyperinflation?

Answer 20

the poor
the govt
anyone with savings

SO PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE

Question 21

how many jobs did the govt cut to deal with hyperinflation?

Answer 21

750,000 jobs

Question 22

how many Marks in circulation in 1918?

Answer 22

33,000

Question 23

how many Marks in circulation in 1923?

Answer 23

17,000,000

Question 24

when did Stresemann’s coalition government takeover?

Answer 24

August 1923

Question 25

how did Stresemann act quickly and decisively?

Answer 25

through the use of emergency decrees
he was able to bypass the Reichstag to get decisions through quickly without the need to debate and discuss

Question 26

why did the Weimar govt not increase taxes and reduce expenditure?

Answer 26

would have been passively unpopular and would have led to increased unemployment

Question 27

why was losing control over the Ruhr a massive issue for the German economy?

Answer 27

• could not raise taxes from the area
• the French did not deliver any of the coal that was mined there to Germany
• this meant Germany had to import their fuel

Question 28

when did Stresemann replace the Mark?

Answer 28

October 1923

Question 29

what replaced the Mark?

Answer 29

the Rentenmark

Question 30

what did Stresemann ban?

Answer 30

emergency money

Question 31

who oversaw the currency reform in 1923?

Answer 31

Hjalmar Schacht

Question 32

what role did Schacht hold in 1923?

Answer 32

President of the Reichsbank

Question 33

when did Schacht become President of the Reichsbank?

Answer 33

December 1923

Question 34

what effect did the currency change have on German confidence?

Answer 34

it restored faith in the German currency
- Germans switched to the Rentenmark and then the prices eventually settled

Question 35

when was the Rentenmark replaced?

Answer 35

August 1924

Question 36

what replaced the Rentenmark?

Answer 36

the Reichsmark

Question 37

how did Stresemann deal with reparations and their impact on the German economy?

Answer 37

the Dawes and Young plans reduced the impact of reparations
brought in loans from America which allowed Germany to recover

Question 38

what was cartelisation?

Answer 38

the merging of small businesses with big businesses to ensure their economic survival
prices would be controlled to ensure low costs to allow economic boom

Question 39

what was the biggest cartel in German industry?

Answer 39

I.G Farben
composed of various chemical groups

Question 40

what did govt investment in industry lead to in the 1920s?

Answer 40

• better industrial infrastructure
• factories were rebuilt with mass-production belts

Question 41

what was an issue in Weimar industry which developed through to the late 1920s?

Answer 41

employer-employee disputes

Question 42

why were employer-employee disputes more common?

Answer 42

workers started to pursue for greater rights and better conditions

owners were trying to:
- extend working hours
- cut wages

strikes and lockouts became more common

Question 43

how did the govt look to deal with employer-employee disputes?

Answer 43

they set up the state arbitration

Question 44

when was state arbitration set up?

Answer 44

October 1923

Question 45

what was state arbitration?

Answer 45

an 8 hour working day was set by the govt
HOWEVER
matters of pay were left up for debate between employers and workers

Question 46

how many cases were taken to arbitration?

Answer 46

60,000

Question 47

why was trade difficult for Germany to carry out in the 1920s?

Answer 47

poor relationship with their biggest neighbours in Britain and France

Question 48

why was Germany subject to harsher tarrifs?

Answer 48

many countries looked to exploit German trade by charging them more due to their involvement in WW1

Question 49

what were Germany’s key exports?

Answer 49

steel
chemicals

both were in high demand

Question 50

rise in German exports between 1925 and 1929

Answer 50

40%

Question 51

how much of the workforce worked in agriculture?

Answer 51

around 30%

Question 52

why did bigger farms fare better than smaller farms?

Answer 52

they could afford more innovative technology and use newer farming techniques

Question 53

how powerful were the Elite in preventing agricultural reform?

Answer 53

they held a strong position in preventing any reform which may harm their position as a landowner

Question 54

who prevented the 1918 Reich Settlement Law from being passed?

Answer 54

Hindenburg

Question 55

what did the 1918 Reich Settlement Law do?

Answer 55

make landowners sell land to the government which would then be redistributed out to the poorer farmers

Question 56

how did the mid-1920s Weimar economy function?

Answer 56

relied heavily on borrowing and taxation

Question 57

why did the USA look to invest more in Germany?

Answer 57

higher interests rates were very attractive

increased the dependancy of Germany on foreign nations

Question 58

why was the Weimar economy flawed?

Answer 58

by relying heavily on borrowing, it’s survival was dependant on the status of countries such as the USA
the cost of maintaining the welfare state was becoming too heavy

Question 59

what would the Weimar govt do with the short-loans?

Answer 59

SPEND!!!

they subsidised industry, agriculture and social welfare

Question 60

how many unemployed in 1929 and what does this show?

Answer 60

1.9 million

shows the Weimar economy did little in creating jobs