economic crises and government response 1918-23 Flashcards
what had the Government done during the war and after that negatively impacted the economy?
the Government had spent all of its gold reserves on the war effort and was printing more and more money.
how much Marks were in circulation during June 1914?
6,300 million Marks.
how much did this increase by December 1918?
33,000 million Marks.
what impact did the Treaty of Versailles have on Germany’s economy?
the treaty resulted in Germany loosing both agricultural and industrial lands which slowed down the economy.
what was set up in Germany due to the economic conditions during war?
a black market had developed as inflation had shot up and goods became scarce.
how did the Government help unemployed soldiers returning from war?
the Government set up retraining schemes for those who had fought in the war, which provided loans to help the soldiers until they found work.
which other groups in society did the Government help out?
- wounded soldiers (those left disabled and survivors)
- Widows
- Orphans
what consequences did the government face while supporting these groups?
by 1924, the Government was still supporting 768,000 disabled veterans, 420,000 war widows, with 1,020,000 children and 190,000 parents of dead soldiers.
- all these payments were made by the Government and had to go into debt to support the people.
how much had the Government borrowed during the War?
150 billion Marks.
what was laid out in the Treaty of Versailles that increased Germany’s debt?
in the Treaty of Versailles, the allies had stated that Germany would have to pay reparations which put the government into a even deeper debt.
how did Germany pay it’s reparations until 1924?
Germany paid its reparations in kind for example with
coal, wood and railway carriages.
what happened in 1923 when Germany fell behind on paying its reparations?
France had occupied the Ruhr region in Germany with the aid of Belgian troops.
why was the Ruhr region important to Germany and how did they respond to the French occupation?
- the Ruhr was vital to Germany’s economy because of its coal and the industries based there.
- they responded by stopping all reparation payments to France but not the other Allies.
- ordered officials to not accept orders from non-Germans, and to be passive resistant e.g. sabotage, strikes and working slowly.
what is hyperinflation?
inflation that has excessively increased and spiralled out of control.
how was the Ruhr crisis responsible for hyperinflation?
the Ruhr crisis had escalated inflation into hyperinflation,
prices were going up several times a day. a newspaper that cost 1 Mark on May 1st cost 100,000 Marks by 1 September and 700 billion Marks by 17 November of that year.
