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Germany's International Position ("Golden Age" of Weimar) -…
Germany's International Position ("Golden Age" of Weimar)
Foreign Policy Aims 1924-1929
Stresemann's foreign policy has been credited with taking Germany a long way towards economic recovery and restoring its international reputation
Stresemann's position
Stresemann became Germany's foreign secretary in November 1923 and stayed in the post, despite the changes of government, until 1929
this enabled him to build up good personal relations with other countries
Stresemann disliked Versailles, but pursued a pragmatic approach to reversing it. He understood that Germany was unable to reverse Versailles by force
he also understood other nations could not afford Germany's economic collapse
Stresemann's aims
Stresemann's foreign policy was known as "fulfilment". Its aim was to satisfy the Allies by upholding Versailles until Germany could renegotiate parts of it
fulfilment involved
satisfying French and Belgian concerns over their security and borders
ending the foreign occupation of German territory
regaining Germany's status as a world power in international diplomacy
cooperating with the USA for economic gain
building links with the USSR to put a little pressure on the West
British aims
Britain recognised the importance of an economically strong Germany as a trading partner. It did not want the German navy to rival its own
influential economist Keynes also argued that the Versailles Treaty had been harsh and an unstable Germany could lead to another war in Europe
French and Belgian aims
wanted certainty that Germany could never invade them again
this required Germany being economically and militarily weak
US aims
the USA had never wanted Germany to be harshly treated. The USA was a major supplier of food and raw materials to Germany
USA was an important export market for German manufacturing
USSR aims
the USSR had been an international pariah since the communist revolution. It welcomed diplomatic relations with Germany
Germany Being Accepted by Europe
Stresemann pursued several peace treaties which tried to re-enter Germany into European diplomacy
Locarno Pact (1925)
this Pact was signed by Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and the UK
Germany did not accept its borders in the East, but signed arbitration treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia. It also renounced the use of force
Germany accepted its borders in the west
all countries signing the pact renounce the use of invasion and force as a method of foreign policy, except in self-defence
outcome
Locarno showed that Germany was becoming an important and acceptable member of the international diplomatic community once more
the "Locarno Spring" was how the atmosphere of cooperation and peace in Europe was described
the Locarno Pact satisfied French concerns about its security, but also German concerns about any future French invasion
League of Nations (1926)
Germany and the USSR had not been allowed to join. The US Senate had refused to ratify the Treaty, so the USA was not a member either
Germany was welcomed into the League of Nations in 1926 with great power status. This meant it was on the council and how the power of veto
the League of Nations had been created by the Versailles treaty. For this reason many of the right wing in Germany disliked it, seeing it as a victors' club
Treaty of Berlin (1926)
official terms
both countries agreed to wipe out any war debts and claims of reparations
confirmed the 1922 Treaty of Rapallo
publicly established full democratic relations between Germany and the USSR. They agreed to cooperate over economic matters
secret terms
the secret clauses concerned military cooperation. They allowed Germany to circumvent some of the military restrictions imposed by Versailles
the USSR allowed Germany to train troops there and also to develop forbidden aircraft and tanks on Soviet soil. German officers helped train the Red Army
Disarmament 1924-1929
an international aim shared by many countries was disarmament. People did not want to repeat the atrocity of WW1. Germany, however, felt that other countries were not disarming as they had been forced to do
Germany and disarmament
Germany was secretly rearming beyond what was allowed under the Versailles treaty through the secret clauses of the 1926 Treaty of Berlin
Stresemann also got the Inter-Allied Military Control Commission to leave Germany in 1926. It monitored Germany's compliance with Versailles
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
in 1928, Germany and 70 other countries signed the Kellogg Briand Pact. All signatories renounced the use of force
this included the USA, which was not a member of the League of Nations
Ending Allied Occupation in Germany 1924-1929
after the invasion of the Ruhr, the Allies had remained in Germany. Stresemann wanted them to leave
Stresemann's efforts
after the Locarno Pact the Allies agreed to leave the part of the Rhineland around Cologne by December 1925
when Stresemann agreed the Young Plan in 1929 the Allies agreed to end the occupation of the Rhineland early, although this happened after his death
by calling off passive resistance Stresemann got the French to withdraw from the Ruhr by 1925
right wing satisfaction
the German right wing was dissatisfied with Stresemann's achievements
they wanted a total end to the foreign occupation of Germany immediately and to re-arm