Weimar successes

1. Weimar successes Germany 1923 to 1929

2. Aims of this lesson By the end of this lesson you will • Understand how and why the Weimar Republic had a series of successes between 1923 and 1929 • Evaluate the role of Gustav Stresemann in these successes • Understand that these successes were built on sand

3. 1923 – the story so far • In 1923 the German economy collapsed • Businesses collapsed and unemployment reached epidemic levels • The Weimar government tried to overcome this by printing more money – this led to hyper inflation and money became worthless • People were carrying home their wages in wheelbarrows – the government seemed unable to do anything to help their people

4. Your task • We are going to look at the successes of the Weimar Republic between 1923 and 1929 and to produce a mind map to show these. We will look at • Gustav Stresemann • The Locarno Treaty • The Dawes Plan • The Young Plan • The League of Nations • Problems that still existed

5. Gustav Stresemann (1) • Belonged to the Catholic Centre Party – acceptable to both right and left • A very able politician – could bring everyone together • Became Chancellor for only six months in 1923 – his main task was to introduce a new currency in order to restore confidence

6. Gustav Stresemann (2) • His real interest was in foreign policy – his real successes were in making Germany accepted as an equal on the world stage • He died in October 1929 – just one month before the Wall Street Crash when his country needed him most

7. The Dawes Plan • The USA gave Germany £800 000 000 to invest in her economy in order to recover • The Germans used it to pay off reparations and to invest in industry • This allowed the German economy to recover quickly after 1923 • The problem was that it had to be paid back whenever the Americans needed it and they charged interest

8. The Young Plan • This was a final settlement to the issue of reparations • Allowed Germany to pay in instalments up to 1988 • Allowed Germany to pay back some of the money that she owed whilst allowing her to recover • Scuppered by the world depression after 1929

9. The Locarno Treaty of 1925 • Signed with France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Luxemburg and Switzerland • Germany agreed her western borders – showed acceptance of Versailles • But it did not guarantee her eastern borders with Poland, Austria and Czechoslovakia – she still disputed these.

10. Germany joins the League of Nations - 1926 • Set up in 1919 in order to stop wars occurring again • Aimed to promote peace by taking as opposed to fighting • Similar to the United Nations • The USA had refused to join event though she had thought up the idea • Germany was banned for causing World War One

11. Germany joins the League of Nations - 1926 • In 1926 Stresemann persuaded the LoN to let her join as a full member • Germany also became a member of the council • This changed her status from a defeated enemy to an integral part of the International community • Stresemann’s greatest success

12. Built on sand These were real successes but they were built on sand • The economy was built on American money – if the US economy collapsed so did Germany's • The rich got very rich whilst the poor only got less poor • Unemployment was still a problem and vast sums were spent on the dole

13. There were still serious political problems – no party could win a majority in parliament • The Nazis and Communists were getting more popular – as a result the government could not function properly • In 1925 Hindenburg won the Presidency – and he did not believe in Democracy.