Economic

Question 1

What are real wages?

Answer 1

How much you can buy from your wages

Question 2

When did Gustav Stresemann’s coalition come into power and who did he take over from?

Answer 2

• August 1923 - height of hyperinflation
• Took over from Cuno

Question 3

What was Stresemann’s party?

Answer 3

DVP

Question 4

How long was Stresemann Chancellor?

Answer 4

103 days

Question 5

What was Stresemann’s priority?

Answer 5

To bring inflation under control

Question 6

What were the key three steps to bring inflation under control?

Answer 6

• End passive resistance
• Issue a new currency
• Balance the budget

Question 7

When did Stresemann end passive resistance in the Ruhr and why?

Answer 7

September 1923

He felt that he had no alternative as Germany’s economy was falling and and inflation was speeding up

Question 8

What did ending passive resistance do?

Answer 8

The government stopped having to pay workers on strike who refused to work for the French, decreasing government expenditure

Question 9

What reactions were there to the end of passive resistance?

Answer 9

Highly unpopular, led to serious unrest and the Beer Hall Putsch (Munich Putsch)

Question 10

Who directed the issuing of new currency?

Answer 10

Schacht with Stresemann’s help

Question 11

When was the Rentenmark introduced?

Answer 11

November 1923

Question 12

What was the exchange rate? _ rentenmark for ___ marks

Answer 12

1 rentenmark for 1 trillion marks

Question 13

What was the new currency supported by as Germany did not have enough gold?

Answer 13

A mortgage on all industrial and agricultural land

Question 14

How did the government prevent inflation reappearing once the new currency was launched?

Answer 14

Kept tight control over the amount of money in circulation

Question 15

When did the rentenmark become the Reichsmark?

Answer 15

August 1924

Question 16

As reichsmarks were backed by German gold reserves, how did they have to be maintained?

Answer 16

At 30% of the value of the Reichsmarks in circulation

Question 17

How did Stresemann cut government expenditure?

Answer 17

• Salaries of government employees were cut
• 300 000 civil servants lost their jobs

Question 18

Who did Stresemann raise taxes for?

Answer 18

Individuals and companies

Question 19

What happened to companies that were reliant on credit after taxes were raised?

Answer 19

Crumbled

Question 20

What did the number of companies that wefe bankrupt in Germany raise to:

____ in 1923 to ____ in 1924

Answer 20

233 in 1923 to over 6000 in 1924

Question 21

Who was Charles Dawes and what did he agree to?

Answer 21

An American Banker, a new committee’s chairman that was focussed on Germany’s repayment concerns

Agreed to the Dawes Act

Question 22

When was the Dawes Act agreed and when was it to end?

Answer 22

Agreed in 1924, ended in 1929

Question 23

What was accepted in the Dawes Act?

Answer 23

• The amount paid each year by Germany to be reduced until 1929
• Germany pay 1000 million marks at first
- Increased by 2500 million marks per year over 5 years
- After payed according to German industrial performance
• Germany recieve a loan of 800 million marks from USA for investment

Question 24

What were the consequences of the Dawes Act?

Answer 24

• The French gradually left the Ruhr during 1924-25
• Germany built new machinery, factories, houses and jobs were created

Question 25

What backlash was there to the Dawes Act?

Answer 25

• Stresemann did not like it - Thought of it as an 'economic armistice' • DVNP and small right-wing groups opposed it as they believed Germany should refuse to pay reparations at all

Question 26

Who was Owen Young and what plan did he agree to?

Answer 26

He was an American bussinessman who headed an international committee The Young Plan

Question 27

What year was the Young Plan introduced?

Answer 27

1929

Question 28

What was agreed in the Young Plan?

Answer 28

• Germany to pay reparations until 1988 • Reparations ended up only bring £1.8 billion instead od £6.6 billion • Annual payment increased • Responsibility for paying reparations solely on the German government

Question 29

What was the consequence from the Young plan?

Answer 29

• Britain and France agreed to withdraw all their troops from the Rhineland by June 1930

Question 30

What was the backlash from the Young Plan?

Answer 30

• DVNP leader Hugenburg launched a nationwide campaign against the plan which included other conservative groups such as Nazis - Hugenburg launched a petition before this that got 4.135 million signatures - Made it go through to Reichstag to get referendum - Created the 'freedom law' and a referendum made where people voted for the freedom law - 13.8% of public wanted it

Question 31

In 1927, real wages increased by ___ and in 1928 they rose by another ___

Answer 31

9% 12%

Question 32

How many strikes were there in 1924 then in 1930?

Answer 32

1924: 1973 strikes 1930: 353 strikes

Question 33

What was compulsory arbitration and how did it decline strikes?

Answer 33

Both sides on a dispute agree to allow an independant figure decide a solution, often sided with the employees

Question 34

Why was compulsory arbitration unliked by employers?

Answer 34

They felt that this system was biased and in favour of unions and resented the state's interference in their affairs

Question 35

Who did cartels form between and how many were there by 1925?

Answer 35

Between big and small industry firms ~3000 cartel arrangements in operation

Question 36

What percentage of Germany's coal and steel production were in cartels?

Answer 36

90%

Question 37

How many dwellings were built in 1925, how much more was this than the previous year? How many more wer built in 1926?

Answer 37

178, 930 ( approx 179 000) build in 1925 Over 70 000 more than previous year 205, 793 (approx 206 000) homes built in 1926

Question 38

When could Germanystart to introduce tarrifs and under what conditions?

Answer 38

Could introduce tarrifs on imported foreign goods after 1925 Under terms of the Treaty of Versailles

Question 39

In what industries were advances made?

Answer 39

Chemical industry - artificial fertilisers Cars & aeroplane industries