Germany's international position

Question 1

What was Stresemann’s policy of fulfilment

Answer 1

• had one clear aim -> revise the terms of the T of V.
• policy of fulfilment -> cooperate with France, GB and US and Italy on reparations and removing allied occupation forces from German territory.
  -> believed occupation would lead to more revision of the T of V -> more effective then a confrontational approach.

Question 2

What was the Locarno Pact

Answer 2

• Stresemann aimed to restore international position and avoid hostile alliance between Britain and France.
  -> finally signed in LDN on 1 Dec 1925:
• Rhineland Pact: Germany, France and Belgium promise to respect the western frontier as drawn up at T of V in 1919.
  -> regarded as fixed and guaranteed.
• Germany was to keep its troops out of Rhineland, as demanded at Versailles.
• Arbitration Treaties: Agree with France, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia that any dispute would be settled by a conciliation committee with discussions.
• France sign ‘mutual guarantee’ with Poland and Czechoslovakia -> France makes sure German sticks to argument.

Question 3

What was the impact of the Locarno Pact

Answer 3

• major triumph, was the 1st time Germany recognised western border and accepted loss of Alsace-Lorraine to France and Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium.
• French guarantee support from Britain should there be another German attack.
• French agree to withdraw from Rhineland -> achieved over the next 5 years -> city of Cologne was evacuated in 1926.
• great achievement for Germany -> established Germany as a equal partner in negotiation with the allies.
  -> nationalists attack Stresemann for trying to appease the Allies.

Question 4

What were relations with the USSR like

Answer 4

• similar post-war situations, despite different systems.
  -> both suffered punitive peace treaties.
  -> both treated as ‘outcast’ nations, not allowed to join the League of Nations.
• April 1922, Walter Rathenau negotiates the Treaty of Rapallo.
• April 1926, the Treaty of Berlin.

Question 5

What was the Treaty of Rapallo

Answer 5

• April 1922, Walter Rathenau negotiates Treaty of Rapallo:
• Germany and Russia resumed trade and economic cooperation.
• All claims for compensation for war damage were dropped.
• Germany was allowed to develop new weapons and train pilots in Russia -> away from Allied Scrutiny.
  -> allowed to build subs in Spain.
  -> tanks and artillery were developed in Sweden.

Question 6

What was the impact of the Treaty of Rapallo

Answer 6

• a symbolic step away from post-war isolation.
• allies, especially France were angered.
  -> revealed intention to work around disarmament terms and refusal to accept eastern border with Poland.

Question 7

What was the treaty of Berlin

Answer 7

• April 1926 -> renewed the earlier treaty of the Treaty of Rapallo.
• agreed that Germany would remain neutral if USSR were involved in the war, as long as the USSR were not aggressors.
• was signed after the Locarno Pact -> stresemann still aimed to secure revision of Eastern borders.
  -> close relationship with the USSR was vital -> USSR would resist any border changes it didn’t agree with.

Question 8

How did the allies attempt to ensure Germany would comply with disarmament clause

Answer 8

• an Inter-Allied Control Commission (IMCC) was established to monitor them.
  -> however Treaty of Apollo showed Germany could find ways of getting around the disarmament clauses.

Question 9

How did Germany get around the term of the limited army capacity

Answer 9

• Under Germany Von Seeckt -> army found ways of getting around limit of the size of the army.
  -> most recruits were enlisted for short periods
  -> received military training.
  -> ensured a reserve of highly trained men who could be recalled to the army at short notice.
• Von Seeckt aimed to restore military might by working to alliance with USSR -> aimed to destroy Poland.
  -> Politicians Rathenau and stresemann turned a blind eye to the extent of military cooperation.
• secret rearmament driven by Army leaders -> tacit approved (secret approval) by politicians.

Question 10

What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact

Answer 10

• 1928 -> Frank Kellogg and Aristotle Briand drew up international agreement under which states would agree to voluntarily renounce the use of offensive wars to resolve disputes.
  -> Germany was one of the 1st states to sign.
• Symbolic importance of international agreement to avoid war.
• however there was lack of any enforcement mechanism which limited its effectiveness.

Question 11

Explain the end of allied occupation

Answer 11

• withdrawal was as a step-by-step process -> involved compromise and concession on both side.
• after the Dawes Plan (1924) and Locarno Pact (1925) provided evidence of cooperation -> occupation withdrawn from zone 1 of Rhineland in 1926
  -> also withdrew the IMCC.
• Once the Young Plan (1929) agreed on by the Germany -> withdrawal was clearly appropriate.
  -> withdrew from zone 3 in 1930 -> was 5 years ahead of schedule of T of V.