Weimar Germany - The Stresemann Era

Question 1

which years were the stresemann era?

Answer 1

1924-1929

Question 2

what four problems did gustav stresemann solve?

Answer 2

1. Hyperinflation
2. Invasion of the Ruhr
3. Economic Problems
4. Foreign Policy

Question 3

how did stresemann solve hyperinflation? (2)

Answer 3

• stopped the printing of old money and replaced it with a new, temporary currency called the rentenmark
• this was then changed again in 1924 to the reichsmark, a stable currency that remained for the next 25 years

Question 4

how did stresemann solve the invasion of the ruhr?

Answer 4

• in what was known as the dawes plan, stresemann arranged for the usa to lend germany 800 million marks so they could re-start their reparation payments
• france and belgium left the ruhr

Question 5

how did stresemann solving hyperinflation have a negative impact on some people?

Answer 5

• people who had lost their savings never got their money back and blamed stresemann

Question 6

how did stresemann solving the invasion of the ruhr problem have a negative impact?

Answer 6

some Germans felt stresemann should have negotiated an end to the reparations completely

Question 7

how did stresemann solve the economic problems?

Answer 7

• the money from the dawes plan was further used to build new factories, schools and roads
• this meant more jobs with germans making more money

Question 8

how did stresemann solving the economic problems have a negative impact?

Answer 8

• some, even stresemann himself, feared that germany was relying too much on money from the usa

Question 9

how did stresemann solve foreign policy?

Answer 9

1925; germany signs the locarno pact
- where britain, france, belgium, italy and germany all agreed to never invade each other

1926; germany joins the league of nations
- an international peacekeeping organisation that germany had previously been banned from

1928; germany signs the kellog-briand pact where all participating countries agreed to never go to war, unless in defence

Question 10

how did stresemann solving the foreign policy have a negative impact?

Answer 10

• some germans criticised stresemann for not demanding back some of the land taken by the treaty of versailles

Question 11

what was new and exciting about weimar culture in the 1920s? (4)

Answer 11

• CINEMA
  metropolis, a film directed by fritz lang, was the most technically advanced film of the decade.
  marlene dietrich became a global star playing glamorous, strong-willed women
• NIGHTLIFE
  germany became a centre for new plays, operas and shows.
  berlin was famous for its nightclubs with live bands that played american jazz

-LITERATURE
people had 120 newspapers and magazines to choose from
*a german anti-war novel called ‘all quiet on the western front’ became a bestseller

• ART AND DESIGN
  avant-garde artists believed art should show the reality of everyday life, in particular the differences between social classes
  a new group of designers known as bauhaus believed in modern, practical designs