Added to these problems, there was an unsupportive President – Paul von Hindenburg. He had caused problems during the 1925 elections as he was very nationalistic, and was, therefore, against the SPD. This had serious consequences in terms of stability within the Government. As this party was the most popular, it was confusing for the general public who had a well-respected President who was against them. The period of time between 1924 and 1929 were extremely unstable. There is very little that is politically stable and/or successful.
Regardless of the political condition, economically Germany was progressing. Monetary stability was established between 1924 and 1925. This was particularly important to those classes that had been affected by the 1023 hyperinflation crisis. The establishment of the Retenmark and the effects of the Dawes Plan allowed there to be a significant influx of foreign capital (approximately 25.5 billion marks between 1924 and 1930). Reparation payments were delayed by the Dawes plan. The national income rose 12% in 1928 from 1913. Industry had a promising growth rate.
The German industry was reconstructed with the use of generous amounts from the USA. This was good initially as it caused monetary stability. However, this policy was dangerous, as a downturn in world economy, such as the Wall Street Crash in October 1929, had led to a rapid withdrawal of investment, which left German economy in a disastrous condition, and had serious political ramifications. This in turn had left Germany further unstable. Unemployment increased and savings turned to dust. Despite this the positive aspects of the economy had a greater impact on Germany’s stability.
Although the economic and political situations were weak during these five years, international relations were strengthened. The changes in Government in Britain in January 1924, to MacDonald, and in France in April 1925 to Briand, had enabled Stresemann to improve allied relations. The new Prime Ministers wanted to improve diplomacy and avoid war. Whereas the previous Governments still remembered WWI and, therefore resented Germany. When the Governments changed they were more sympathetic and understanding towards Germany. The change of Governments combined with the diplomatic skills of Gustav Stresemann, the foreign minister and the chancellor in 1925, allowed Germany to excel in foreign affairs.
Stresemann’s foreign policies had enabled increased stability on an international level, his main achievement being the revision of the Treaty of Versailles. His success is shown by the labelling of the period of time where he was Chancellor as ‘the Stresemann years’. His policy of fulfilment was successful. It was constructive diplomacy, whereby there was no antagonistic behaviour and where diplomacy was followed through negotiation and compromise. Stresemann fulfilled the terms of the treaty instead of rebelling against them as Germany had done previously as shown by the invasion of the Ruhr in 1923). By this he showed the allies how unfair and unreasonable they were.
This resulted in the allies trusting Germany, as shown by the withdrawal of the IMCC (Inter-Allied-Military-Commission) in 1927. They regained diplomatic influence and influence on the allies, they had a permanent seat on the council and they were accepted into the League of Nations on 8th September 1926. A greater understanding with France was established, which is evident from the formation of the Locarno treaties in 1925. The first evacuation of the Rhineland also took place five years ahead of schedule in 1925. This showed an extreme contrast in attitudes towards Germany. Simultaneously, Germany had built up good relations with the soviet by the Treaty of Berlin in April 1926, and by supporting the treaty of Rapallo. This in turn had prompted western powers to sympathise further.
This resulted in the establishment of the Young Plan and the Dawes plan, which allowed the reparations to be rationalised and allowed the development of the economy. However, this had consequences during the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Stresemann’s policies were not universally recognised as successful as they caused unrest domestically. 5.8 million German citizens’ were prepared to vote for a law that labelled Stresemann a traitor and rejected his policies. Germany had no military aid so there were limited options leading to peace. Radicals were able to act as a destabiliser, as some people thought Stresemann was taking too long they turned to radicals who offered fast relief.
It was particularly important to try and stabilise Germany, as WWI had serious repercussions that had still not been taken care of by 1924. There were serious problems with the economy before this period in time, for example the problem of hyperinflation in 1923. Weimar had a responsibility to suppress all the problems instead of bringing them to the forefront and heightening them. Politically, Weimar was unsuccessful and extremely unstable. It was not popular with the public and it failed in its main objectives. Economically Weimar was fairly successful, although the Wall Street Crash had caused numerous problems, it was an unforeseen circumstance. In spite of the majority of Stresemann’s foreign policies being successful, domestic political stability was not achieved. The Treaty of Versailles had plagued politics, it had made it very difficult for Weimar to stabilise Germany. It affected politics as shown by the ‘Stab in the back theory’ and the ‘War Guilt Clause’, it influenced the economy due to the reparations, and it influenced international relations due to the fact that Germany had lost the war.
