The Weimar Republic: "the Golden Years" 1924-1929.

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Sean Flynn 10KO

The Weimar Republic: “the Golden Years” 1924-1929

  1. The decision by the French and Belgian armies to invade the Ruhr was sparked by the actions of Weimar leader Ebert, who played for time to negotiate concessions from the Allies, over reparations payments, considering Germany’s financial situation following the collapse of the Mark. But the French ran out of patience and in early 1923 Belgian and French troops entered the Ruhr and took what they felt was owed to them in terms of raw materials and goods. In 1925 the French and Belgian troops left the Ruhr.

  1. The German government reacted by ordering workers to carry out passive resistance, which meant to go on strike, therefore the French would have nothing to take away. The French reacted harshly though, killing over 100 activists and expelling over 100,000 protesters from the region.

  1. Following the halt in Germany’s industrial production, the currency collapsed drastically. Workers stopped providing raw materials as they went on strike under the orders of the Weimar government. This plunged the economy into hyperinflation, where production can’t keep up with the amount of money there is, so the money keeps losing its value.

4a)        Stresemann became Chancellor in August 1923 and gradually led Germany back to recovery. He ended passive resistance to get industrial production back on track, as the halt in production was the main cause of hyperinflation.

b)        Stresemann’s order was unpopular with the middle-class in Germany, because the middle-class found that savings they had in the bank, which might have bought them a house in 1921, by 1923 would not even buy them a loaf of bread. The middle-class never forgot this and voted for the Nazis. His decision to end passive resistance made some Germans feel that they were giving in to rival countries.

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  1. Because it had no goods to trade following the halt in industrial production, the government simply printed money, and they saw this as an attractive solution. IT paid off its debts and £2200 million pounds worth of war loans. The great industrialists were also able to pay off their debts. However workers soon noticed their money was worthless. The problem was finally solved when Stresemann called in the worthless marks and burned them, replacing them with a new currency, the Rentenmark.

6a)        The Dawes Plan made sure that Germany would not have to pay any more than they ...

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