Overcoming the Challenges to the Weimar Republic (1924-29)

Question 1

What was the period from 1924 to 1929 in Germany described as, and why?

Answer 1

• The Golden Years of the Weimar Republic
• The political situation was relatively stable; there weren’t any attempts to overthrow the government, or any major political assassinations

Question 2

List 6 things Stresemann (and the government) did in 1923 to deal with hyperinflation.

Answer 2

• They used emergency decrees to fix rents, wages and prices
  September:
• He called off passive resistance in the Ruhr
  October:
• The Rentemark would replace the mark as a temporary measure
• A limit was set on how much would be printed
• They set up state arbitration boards for industrial disputes
  November:
• Ban of the use of emergency money

Question 3

List 3 further actions taken by the government in 1924 to deal with hyperinflation.

Answer 3

• The new Reichsmark was introduced, which was on the gold standard, and replaced the Rentenmark
• Debts were revalued against the Reichsmark
• Negotiations for the Dawes Plan began, and it then came into force

Question 4

Who was put in charge of the introduction of the Rentenmark and the Reichsmark?

Answer 4

• Hjalmar Schacht

Question 5

Who was Hjalmar Schacht?

Answer 5

• He was President of the Reichsbank from December 1923

Question 6

What did businesses do during hyperinflation, and why?

Answer 6

• In 1924 there were more bankruptcies than the previous 5 years combined
• The surviving big businesses formed cartels; they set prices for their industry, which helped stabilise the economy

Question 7

How did Stresemann’s role change?

Answer 7

• In November 1923, his government collapsed, so he was replaced as chancellor
• He became foreign minister, and was very effective in this role

Question 8

What were 3 reasons why Stresemann called off passive resistance in the Ruhr? What was this tactic known as?

Answer 8

• He saw that it wasn’t effective, so decided to meet the French’s terms instead
• Stresemann was aware that the occupation of the Ruhr had won Germany sympathy internationally, and wanted to use that to negotiate a better deal for Germany
• As workers in the Ruhr no longer had to be paid, there was less of a need to print more money
• Stresemann’s tactic was known as ‘fulfilment’

Question 9

Give 2 other examples of ‘fulfilment’.

Answer 9

• 1925 Locarno Pact: Germany accepted its western borders (but not its eastern ones)
• 1928: Kellogg-Briand Pact: Germany and other countries outlawed war

Question 10

What was another treaty that Stresemann signed that was very important? Who did he sign it with, and when?

Answer 10

• Treaty of Berlin in 1926 with Russia

Question 11

Why was the Treaty of Berlin so important?

Answer 11

• It allowed Germany to secretly rearm in Russia

Question 12

Why did Stresemann decide to use a policy of ‘fulfilment’ to improve Germany’s economic situation?

Answer 12

• He knew the USA and Britain wanted Germany’s economy to recover
• He therefore knew he could undermine the Treaty of Versailles through economics, which can be seen through the Dawes Plan (for example, the USA wanted the German economy to be successful so that their loans would be repaid and their investments wouldn’t be jeopardised)

Question 13

List 5 aspects of the Dawes Plan.

Answer 13

• The sum fixed in 1921 (132 billion gold marks) was confirmed
• Over 5 years, reparations would rise from 1,000 million to 2,500 million, and would then vary according to economic performance
• The Allies agreed that they could only decide on sanctions together (after the occupation of the Ruhr)
• Germany were given a 800 million mark loan to stabilise their currency
• It was seen as temporary

Question 14

What situation did the Dawes Plan create globally?

Answer 14

• Germany used US loans to pay back Britain and France
• Britain and France used this money to pay back their war loans to the USA
• This was a continuous cycle

Question 15

What were 2 impacts the Dawes Plan had in Germany?

Answer 15

• It helped economic recovery, and Germany was therefore able to pay reparations
• They received more than they needed to pay in reparations, so the government invested the excess money in industry

Question 16

Give 7 ways in which the German economy was prosperous between 1924 and 1928.

Answer 16

• Industrial production doubled between 1923 and 1928
• This caused wages to rise every year
• As the government received more in tax, they invested this in public work schemes
• They also invested in leisure and housing
• Welfare payments increased
• Wages for state employees also went up
• The improving economy also led to more foreign investment, especially from the USA

Question 17

What did increased US investment in the German economy lead to?

Answer 17

• The Young Plan in 1929

Question 18

List 6 aspects of the Young Plan.

Answer 18

• Total reparations were reduced to 37 billion marks
• Annual payments were decreased
• 58 years were given to pay off the reparations
• Allied troops would be withdrawn from Germany in June 1930 (5 years earlier than originally planned)
• Germany was allowed to be part of the negotiations
• Intended as a final agreement

Question 19

How did extreme nationalists (including the Nazis) see the Young Plan, and what did they do as a result?

Answer 19

• They saw it as a betrayal as it was based on the acceptance of war guilt
• They called for a referendum in 1929

Question 20

What was the result of the Anti-Young Plan Referendum, and what influenced this?

Answer 20

• The nationalists won 13.8% of the vote, but voter turnout was so low that the result was void
• Although the nationalists had ran an intense propaganda campaign, the government had ran its own campaign supporting the Young Plan and presenting the nationalists as untruthful

Question 21

When was the impact of Stresemann’s policies most evident, and how? What limitation was there to this?

Answer 21

• In the 1928 elections
• Support for extremist parties decreased (the KPD and the Nazis won less than 15% of the vote between them)
• However, the 3 main parties that supported democracy only won 49.9% of the vote between them

Question 22

What the biggest issue the German economy had from 1924 to 1929? Give 2 details.

Answer 22

• Its growth was completely dependent on the USA, and Stresemann summarised this by saying that Germany was ‘dancing on the edge of a volcano’
• The government also spent heavily to subsidise industry and agriculture and to make welfare payments, so it both borrowed and spent heavily
• Without US money, and therefore government support through it, the economy would collapse

Question 23

When did Stresemann die?

Answer 23

• October 1929, shortly before the Wall Street Crash

Question 24

Who were the 2 presidents of the Weimar Republic, and how long was each in charge for?

Answer 24

• Friedrich Ebert: 1919-1925 (died)
• Paul von Hindenburg: 1925-1934 (died)

Question 25

What 3 things did Ebert do to recreate stability after WW1?

Answer 25

• He quickly called elections to the new National Constituent Assembly (the parliament prior to the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic)
• They quickly formed a government, and he became president the following day
• He then outlined the basics of the new constitution to end political instability and the risk of revolution

Question 26

List 3 actions that Ebert had taken to deal with left-wing extremism in the period 1918-1919.

Answer 26

• In November 1918:
• he made the Ebert-Groener Pact
• he introduced social reforms
• the cabinet he made contained many members of the SPD, and even members of the USPD, who were more radical

Question 27

How successful was Ebert at dealing with the left-wing?

Answer 27

• Very successful; the SPD became the most popular left-wing party
• However, his involvement with the deaths of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg meant many radicals turned against him

Question 28

List 2 ways Hindenburg’s presidency benefitted the Weimar Republic.

Answer 28

• He had been a military general during WW1, so was popular (although he had been unsuccessful, but this wasn’t commonly known) among the German people and conservative nationalists in particular
• He appointed Hermann Müller, leader of the SPD, as chancellor, overcoming divisions in German politics

Question 29

What did the Reichstag do in response to the wave of political assassinations? Give 2 details.

Answer 29

• In 1922, as a response to the murder of Walter Rathenau, the Reichstag passed the Law for the Protection of the Republic
• It increased the sentence for politically motivated murders
• It also banned some extremist parties- such as the Nazis (although only in certain states)