Hi all,
In Thursdays lesson we spent some thinking about the recovery of the Weimar Republic under the leadership of Gustav Stresemann.
Using the essay plan that we created in class, I would like you to answer the following short essay question (max. 1 page of A4). In the post above you should be able to find the audio recordings of the presentations that I will upload after the lesson.
Q. In what ways did the Weimar Republic change in the years 1923 - 1928?
[10 marks]
Remember for the top levels 3 and 4 (C-A*) you will need to include an introduction, a series of linked paragraphs and a conclusion where you show judgement (pick what you think was the most important change and say why).
Please post you essays as a comment to this Blog post by Tuesday 3rd Feb at the latest.
Cheers, Sir
9 comments:
Throughout the duration of this essay I plan to investigate in what ways did the Weimar Republic change in the years 1923 - 1928? I will conduct this essay by examining all the different aspects of Gustav Stresemann’s period as a German politician.
Germany problems began at the conclusion of World War I. Their defeat led to callous punishment given out by France, USA and Britain via the Treaty of Versailles. The funds in which Germany had to pay back to France were colossal and this was the commencement of their problems. Germany could not afford the payments back to France and this caused France to take action. Germanys main industrial headquarters was a large strip of land called the Ruhr. France decided to invade this region and take it as their own. The workers were ordered to let this happen, this process is called passive resistance.
As the workers we made redundant, the German government continued to pay the workers. They did this by printing a mass amount of German mark everyday. As the public had more money, the shop keepers decided to up the prices. As the money built up and so did the prices. Soon hyperinflation was taking place where money turns practically useless. A simple loaf of bread in 1923 cost around one-and-a-half-million-marks. The money was more efficient being used to help ignite kitchen utilities. A prime example was a woman leaving her basket of money outside and unfortunately it was stolen. However it was the basket that was stolen, because it was of more interest and efficiency. This was how terrible it got for Germany.
Germany was thrown a lifeline in the form of Gustav Stresemann. Who was elected Chancellor in August 1923. He immediately introduced a new currency, the Rentenmark, to replace the old worthless mark. Stresemann also ordered the striking workers of the Ruhr back to work and agreed to pay reparations to France. This truly did set the ball rolling for Germany in their bid to become a major nation again. Later the Dawes plan was introduced to Germany and this benefitted them considerably financially. The pan enabled Germany too pay as much as it could afford each year in reparations. This gave Germany the piece of mind knowing that they could begin to re-build.
To aid Germany’s financial crisis the USA loaned Germany 800 million marks and began to support them financially. German people had mixed thoughts, some were happy that Germany was being given a valued boost but others thought Germany was beginning to rely on USA too much. Due to Stresemann’s new currency Germany began to recover form hyperinflation and this boost their reputation financially on a global stage. Furthermore as Germany began to recover foreign banks began to lend money to German businesses and the government to help them recover. This was because Stresemann had proved Germany was becoming stable again. On a global scale in 1926 Germany was allowed to join the League Of Nations and was accepted as an important country again.
Throughout the extent of this essay I was asked to scrutinize how the Weimar Republic changed between 1923 and 1928. I feel that instruction of Gustav Stresemann was the most important change between these years. This is because without his introduction Germany would still be run by individuals who were afraid to speak out in case someone didn’t like what they said. It was Stresemann’s confidence and determination which was inspiring to Germany. His introduction of new currency got Germany out of the gargantuan hole they were in. It got Germany backs its industry and most importantly back into a financially stable situation. Furthermore this incident was like a domino effect and everything else seem to fit in. The Dawes Plan and USA loans followed this. In conclusion I feel that the induction of Gustav Stresemann and the Rentenmark were the most important factors within the Weimar Republic.
In this essay I will discuss how the Weimar Republic changed in the years 1923-28. It was a change that helped Germany out of the hyperinflation that struck just before this time. This happened after the Germans stopped paying reparation payments to France and Belgium in 1923. France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, an industrial estate that is important to Germany. The Weimar government told the workers to go on strike but soon had to pay the workers with money they simply didn’t have so they decided to print more money. This led to hyperinflation that decreased the value of the mark, the currency used in Germany at the time.
Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor of the Weimar Republic in August 1923. He introduced a new currency, the Rentenmark, to replace the old worthless mark. He also ordered the striking workers of the Ruhr to get back to work and he agreed to pay reparations to France. In 1924 Stresemann attended a meeting with the French, British and American leaders and the result was the Dawes plan which was set up y an American Economist named Charles Dawe. It was agreed that Germany would pay as much as it could each year. And it started with 1000 million marks. The USA gave the Germans a loan of 800 million marks to get started. This caused the French to leave the Ruhr, giving Germany its industry back. As Germany began to recover foreign banks began to lend Germany money and it wasn’t long until Germany was back on track. In 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations and was accepted as an important country.
In my opinion, the most important factor was Stresemann. If it wasn’t for this man none of the rest would have happened. It was Stresemann who introduced a new currency and attended a metting that helped Germany recover from the hyperinflation.
During the years 1923 - 1928 the Weimar Republic changed in many ways. After the war there was a Great Depression but Gustav Stressmann changed this.
He became Chancellor in August 1923and introduced a new currency, the Rentenmark. He did this because the currency used at this time was increasingly becoming more worthless. The new currency was called the Rentemark.
Another thing that Stresemann did to change the bad situations occuring in the Weimar Republic at this time was ordering the striking workers of Ruhr to work and agreed to pay reparations to France.
The Dawes Plan was invented to make Germany's reparations more managable. This meant that Germanys agreed to pay as much as it could afford each year. It started with 1,000 million marks.
A key factor of change is the loans that the USA gave to Germany to get them started, loaning them 800 million marks. Other countries abroad have loans to German Bussinesses helping them recover from hyperinflation.
In 1926 Germany was aloud into the League of Nationns. This was a big change for the country as it was finally acceoted ad an important country once again.
All these reasons were important in their own ways, helping the Weimar Republic change for the better and regain it's financial status. I believe the most helpful thing that changed during this time was Stresseman's work in creating the new currency and ordering the workers to stop.
during the years 1923-1928 the weimar republic changed. frist there was a change of chancellor, a man named gustav stresemann came in and changed a lot of things. his first thing he changed was that he decided to stop printing paper money. also he introduced a new form of currency called the rentmark, 1 rentmark was to be worth 1,000 billion marks, this way it would increase the valuue of money.
because of germanies hyperinflation it couldn't afford to pay back the amount agreed each year to france. so then the dawses plan came into action it allow germany to pay back as much as it could afford to france each year it started off with 1,000 million per year.
to get germany back on to it's feet america decided to give them a loan of 800 million marks this therefore give germanies economy a kick in the right direction. as germany recovered from inflation, foregin banks began to lend money to german businesses and the government to help them recover. in 1926 germany was allowed to join the league of nations and was accepted as an important country. I think the most important factor was the fact that gustav stresemann had an idea to change the currency which basically turned the government around. tom graham .
Gustav Stresemann and the Weimar Republic
After the First World War and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles Germany had to pay France and Belgium reparations for their damage to their countries. They wouldn’t accept Marks (The German currency) as it was worthless, so Germany had an even harder job to pay up as they had very little funds to pay reparations. In 1923 Germany stopped paying reparations to France this lead to France and Belgium invading the Ruhr an important industrial area of Germany where most of their economy came from this was where the metal and coal works were located so France new that there was some money here instead of the reparations that Germany couldn’t pay. This was under the Weimar republic and Gustav Stresemann came to power and was ready to recover Germany from this situation.
The first thing Gustav Stresemann did to recover Germany was, when France and Belgium invaded the Gustav Stresemann told all of the workers to go on strike and not assist the French soldiers who were loading the goods onto transporters so they could get it back to France. They did this so it was harder work for the French who were basically just stealing what was rightfully Germanys. Eventually France and Belgium gave up and left the Ruhr to the Germans Who started work again creating more money for Germany.
One of the next problems that Gustav Stresemann resolved was the Hyperinflation, which is when money becomes worth less than the paper it’s printed on. This occurred when German people had no money to buy anything with and the prices of things like bread which were essentials would cost on average 1 billion marks. At the time the German government thought the problem solver would be to print more money so the German people had enough to afford things like bread. This only resulted in more problems with shops putting their prices up. When Gustav Stresemann came into power he withdrew the mark and made another currency called the rent mark. After introducing this he immediately stopped printing the mark and now the rent mark was worth one thousand billion marks. This sorted out Germany’s money problems and they were gradually getting back to normal.
In 1924 Stresemann attended a meeting with French, American and British Leaders in this meeting there was a plan set up by an American Economist called Charles Dawes it was called the Dawes plan its plan was to aid Germany so it could pay its debts, especially those owed to France and Belgium (reparations), because of this it made it easier for Germany to pay back as much as she could afford each year. America aided Germany also by giving her 800 million which made France leave the Ruhr giving Germany her Industrial Area back. Germany now was beginning to recover from this crisis and banks were now lending Germany some money. From 1924 – 29 banks lent Germany twenty five thousand million golden marks to Germany, this was a big help for Germany as it led to the building of new roads, houses and communication systems. By 1928 Germany had recovered from its economic downturn and had now reached its peak production rate. Germany now had a very low unemployment rate and was becoming wealthy once again. This led to Germany to being able to pay its debts quicker than they expected. Germany though was still paying their reparations until 1988, but people thought that Germany relied on America too much.
In 1925 Stresemann signed the Locarno pact along with Britain France Belgium and Italy, all of the promised not to invade each other which was a relief after the invasion of the Ruhr in 1923. In 1926 Germany were now allowed to join the League of Nations which now meant they would have a decision a international level and were now involved in the decisions in Europe. Then in 1928 along with 64 other countries Germany signed the Kellogg Briand pact, where all countries agreed not to go to war unless in an act of self defence. This was a success for Germany as it showed they had regained some power once again. Although, some German people criticised Stresemann for not demanding land back off other countries, that Germany had once lost. This is how Stresemann gained respect from international leaders.
Stresemann was a major help for Germany in times like these and had brought them through the difficult period after the war. All four of these things were equally as important, but in my opinion I think that the most important one is the meeting of American, French and British leaders which was when the Dawes plan was formed. I think this was the most important as it was when Germany were given a life line metaphorically speaking. It was also when Germany was able to pay back most of its debts with the aid of America; this also gave them trust so other international banks would lend them money. This money led to the incline of economy and Germany could now afford to make their country a better place. This is why I think the Dawes project was most important. But all of these things Stresemann were all important as they all linked together to get Germany out of this situation.
On August 13, 1923, in the misdt of the Ruhr crisis, Gustav Stresemann was made the chancellor and foreign misister of a
grand coalition government. In 1923 he showed strength by calling off the passive resistance at the Ruhr.Germany
was no longer able to pay the workers, so more and more money was printed, this finally led to hyperinflations.
Gustav then ended this by introducing a new currency. As foreign minister, Stresemann had numerous achievements.
His first notable achievement was the Dawes Plan of 1924, which reduced Germany's overall reparations.
His second success was the Rhineland Pact with Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium, signed in October 1925 at Locarno
After this reconciliation with the Versailles powers, Stresemann moved to allay the growing suspicion of the Soviet Union. The Treaty of Berlin signed in April 1926 reaffirmed and strengthened the Rapallo Treaty of 1922. In September 1926, Germany was admitted to the League of Nations as permanent member of the Security Council. This was a sign that Germany was quickly becoming a "normal" state and assured the Soviet Union of Germany's sincerity in the Treaty of Berlin.
Well, unfortunatly i wasn't in on thursdays lesson, but as for most things wikipedia will bail me out.
The time of 1923-1929 was regarded as the golden era for the weimar republic under the dontrol of Gustav Stresseman. His first move was to issue a new type of currency called the rentermark to stop the extreme hyperinflation, which crippled their economy, but became succeseful when Stresseman refused to give out any more money. This was based only on land and soon repaired the economic crisis. Hans Luther was then given the role of finance minister to look after the new economy and the rentermark then became the permenant currency of Germany.
In 1924 the Dawes plan was created which enabled Germany to loan money from America to help ease the blow of paying reparations caused by the war. He also enstated other foreign achievements like the evacuation of Ruhr in 1925 along with the Berlin treaty that reinforced the treaty of rapollo, which greatened the relations between Germany and Russia. Germany was also entered into the league of Nations which gave them better international stance and a chance to veto certain legislations. Germany soon became permenant members. Progress grew between Germany on the western border, though none was declared on the east. This was funded with overseas financial help, which unfortunatly grew the countries debt and almost obliterated their trade and grew unemployment. Although this was a national mistake, on an international state they looked a rather stable democracy. The 1920s saw a massive cultural revival in Germany. It was, arguably, the most innovative period of cultural change in Germany.
Germany then went under a drastic change, with new market stores being introduced like caberet, music was introduced as a practical pursuit and new modern architecture was built in bauhaus style. However there may have been an uproar to this sudden culture shock, in 1930 jazz was banned and modern art was taken from the art museums. Despite this revelation, Stresseman was criticised as not fulfilling the Versailles treaty and after an invasion rom the Ruhr, he had to pay reparations to stop the french troops. In 1929 Germany saw the death of Stresseman and the Weimar Republic, only four years after he was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1926.
World War 1 had left Germany with many economic and political problems. Germany was subject to the harsh terms of the treaty of versailles and were in a large amount of debt which could not be payed. To make matters worse, in 1923, France and Belguim forces invaded Germanys main industrial region, the Ruhr, as a result of Germany not being able to pay them for repairs.
In 1923, Gustav Stresemann took over the German government, and aimed to stabilize the countries economical struggle. His plans were put into action and soon had Germany back on its way to a proud nation. In 1924, The Allies made it easier for Germany to pay the reperation fees that were demanded. This was put into place through the Dawes Plan, which was made to create an easier payment schedule. In 1925, Stresemann signed the treaty of Locarno, in hope to secure Germany against further invasions on its western front, and it succeeded. The Allies withdrew their armed forces and the following year Germany was allowed into the League Of Nations. Gustav Stresemann also put into place a new currency, known as the Reichsmark, which created an impressive effect on Germanys economical crisis.
I have printed off all the essay with grades and comments for your files. You can get them from me next lesson :-)
Cheers, Sir
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