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Stresseman's Achievements, Weaknesses in the Weimar Constitution,…
Stresseman's Achievements
Political Achievements
He was able to unite both far left and far right sides of the spectrum because his ideologies were centrist
However, coalitions and the Weimar Constitution were still weak
Still stab-in-the-back myth due to Versailles humiliation
Still high unemployment
Still, many Germans resentful of hyperinflation
Germany rejoined League of Nations in 1926
Led to greater acceptance by international communities through treaties
League of Nations increased business confidnece
Steady work to reverse harsher terms of ToV
1923 Locarno Pact - Germany agrees to accept her frontiers with France and Belgium
Attacked by some nationalists for accepting terms of ToV by joining League and signing pact; Communists also attacked Locarno as a plot against the USSR
1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact - Germany and 64 other countries agree to "renounce war as an instrument of policy"
1929 Allies withdraw from Rhineland
Who is Stresemann?
Chancellor 1923 - 1929, solved many political and economic crises that came about as the result of WW1
Dawes and Young plans - dealt with reparations
Ended Ruhr passive resistance
Foreign policy - LoN
Died 1929
Nationalist but believed that Germany had to work with other countries and moderate themselves in order to solve Germany's problems
Cultural Achievements
Weimar culture developed - new bars, pubs, cabarets, films, art flourished under Stresseman
Economic Achievements
Reparations - US loans would allow Germany to pay off debts
Dawes Plan 1924 - introduced US loans and lowered reparations
He did not forsee the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression - one could argue that economic stability was an illusion
Scaled down US reparations and spread them over a longer preiod of time
Provided loans of 800M marks from US
Young Plan 1929 - Further lowered reparations, provided more US loans
By 1928 German industrial production was back to pre-war levels. Reparations were being paid. Exports were increasing
However, farmers suffered from depression throughout the 1920s due to falls in food prices, and many went into serious debt. Peasant farmers and small businesses did not do as well as city businesses and industrial workers
The Agricultural Sector was in trouble, and growth in the industry had begun to slow by 1927
Called off passive resistance
Passive resistance came about from French troops occupying the Ruhr as Germany failed to pay their reparations
Caused hyperinflation
Ruhr was an important part of industry - calling passive resistance off got industry moving again
Ending hyperinflation by Nov 1923 - not only called off passive resistance, but destroyed worthless old currency Reichsmark and replaced it with the temporary Rentenmark which was strictly in regulation to prevent inflation of the currency. This was then replaced with a permanent currency
As a result of hyperinflation, people had to resort to bartering. The middle class were hit the hardest. Pensions and savings were reduced to almost nothing. Wages were paid in foodstuffs.
Middle-class and elderly lost financial security
Weaknesses in the Weimar Constitution
Presidential Power
Article 48 - Emergency Powers
Could suspend civil liberties and even use force
Introduced in difficult political, social and economic circumstances
e.g. Hunger Chancellor's unpopular austerity bill
132 bills passed
Meant to be used in emergencies, but this was not clearly defined and so was overused; therefore the German population's confidence in democracy was weakened
Could overrule Reichstag
Could be used by Chancellors to pass bills
President was elected every 7 years; could dismiss Chancellor
Strict Proportional Representation
Difficult for any party to win a majority - it was difficult to get a majority which was required to pass laws. Thus there were frequent changes in government and many elections were held. Inevitably there were a succession of coalition governments
20 coalition governments in 14 years
15 chancellors in 15 years
Smaller parties received more seats
Constitution gave Weimar Republic's enemies the ability to vote
Unpopularity
People associated the Constitution with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the loss in WW1
President Hindenburg himself despised Weimar democracy - he was a right-wing nationalist, who even sought the old Kaiser Wilhelm's blessing before becoming President in 1925
Led to the rise of extremist parties who gained large followings
30% of Reichstag election votes regularly went to opponents of Weimar
Problems in Weimar Germany, 1919-1923
Treaty of Versailles - 28 June 1919
Land Terms
13% of Germany's land lost, containing six million of its people
Overseas colonies lost
48% of iron and steel industries lost
Saar Basin - Taken over by LoN for 15 years, then a plebiscite would be held
Rhineland
Occupied by Allies for 15 years, no German troops allowed in the area
SCRAP - Saar, Colonies, Rhineland, Alsace-Lorraine, Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor (West Prussia and Posen) lost to Poland
Military Terms
Armed forces limited
Army limited to 100,000 troops
Only ships
Conscription was banned
No tanks or submarines allowed
Navy reduced to 15000 sailors
Air force disbanded
Reparations
Announced in April 1921
Set at £6.6 billion
Put strain on the economy
Doubt as to whether Germany could afford this - Treaty also took away 10% of its industry and 15% of its agricultural land
Resentment - "shameful diktat of Versailles"
Article 231 - War Guilt Clause. The Germans resented this the most - to them the war had been one of self-defence, and were forced into war by the way it was treated by other countries
Felt harsh
Stab-in-the-back myth - that Germany army could have fought on and won, but were betrayed by the leaders of the Weimar Republic
Economic Issues
Hyperinflation
Ruhr /Occupation
Political Unrest
Political Opposition
Freikorps - volunteer corps of ex-soldiers
Crushed Spartacist Uprising - took over their HQ in 10th Jan
Crushed left-wing uprisings in many cities over the next four months after January 1919
Killed thousands of Communist supporters
Ebert has succeeded with dealing with threat to Republic from left-wing revolutionaries, but at the price of putting his government into the hands of the army and Freikorps
Neither could be trusted to be loyal
Undermined position of SPD as representatives of the working classes
Lasting bitterness between Socialists and Communists
Left Wing Revolutionaries
Spartacists
Wanted a social revolution like the Russian Revolution of the previous year
Led by Rosa Luxemburg
Spartacist Uprising - January 1919
Through December 1918 there were regular clashes between the government and revolutionaries
January 1919 - some Spartacist members staged an attempted revolution in Berlin against Ebert's government
On the night of 5th January, the Spartacists captured the headquarters of the government's newspaper and the telegraph bureau
They did not capture any other buildings - whole uprising was badly prepared and had no hope of success. Did not have support of other left-wing groups
Rising was easily crushed by the Freikorps. 10 January they took over Spartacist headquarters
100 Spartacists vs 13 Freikorps died
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered. These murders robbed the Communists of their leaders and the movement did not recover
T
Bavarian Uprising
Independent Socialist state led by Kurt Eisner
Kurt Eisner led the state, but was assassinated
Bavarian Communists seized chance to declare a Soviet Republic
Freikorps crushed revolt May 1919
600 Communist deaths
Red Rising, Ruhr, 1920
Clashes of Communists with police
Timeline
1923 - Stressemann becomes Chancellor. Locarno Pact
1924 Dawes Plan
Rise of Hitler