In what ways did the relations with France affect the stability of the Weimar Republic in the years 1922-29?

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In what ways did the relations with France affect the stability of the Weimar Republic in the years 1922-29?

The Weimar Constitution, set up in 1919, barely had time to establish itself due to the problems following the end of the First World War. The Treaty of Versailles meant that Germany Lost large amounts of land and military power. Terms of the Treaty meant that Germany had to accept responsibility for the War and pay huge reparation fees. After Germany did not pay the payment due, allied troops occupied the demilitarised Rhineland. From 1922-29 Germany tried to improve relations with France, hoping that this would help to stabilise the fragile Republic.

In 1922, Germany tried to fulfil the terms of the Treaty to show how impossible it was to achieve. This was unpopular among the German people so Germany asked for a moratorium, which was denied by the French. The issue of reparations meant that Germany owed France massive fees and this caused the Weimar Republic to become unstable. The massive fees caused a huge economic problem and this resulted in large amount of social discontent and strikes, leading to a rise in extremism. And this threatened the Republic, as a revolution could be imminent.

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On the 11th of January 1923, Poincaré the French prime minister ordered 60,000 French and Belgium troops across the River Rhine to occupy the Ruhr. The region was the industrial heartland of Germany where the whole economy was dependant. As the issue escalated into a trial of strength between France and Germany, the Weimar government ordered an indefinite suspension of all reparation payments and instructed German workers not to cooperate but to engage in a campaign of passive resistance. This meant that Germany’s bad relationship with France had resulted in the German economy to be paralysed as industry came to ...

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