What was the State of the Weimar Republic in 1924?

A number of economic problems also troubled the Weimar Republic with the problem of the state paying the reparations as specified in the Treaty of Versailles. In the first year (1921), the £50 million reparations were paid but in 1922, the country could not find enough money to pay the Allies. France was in desperate need of the money to pay the U.S.A. back for the weapons used in the war and so in January 1923 France and Belgium entered the Ruhr and took raw materials and goods (like coal). The Weimar Republic declared a strike in the region, but the French were ruthless, killing those who did not work. The Ruhr was Germany’s industrial stronghold and so when it was invaded, the government could not trade and so printed off money. This allowed the Government to pay off it’s debts but also made wages and prices very high. Everyone in Germany suffered, with the poor not being able to afford anything, and the rich’s money being nearly worthless. In August 1923, Ebert was replaced by Gustav Stresemann who recalled all the marks for burning and introduced a new currency called the Retenmark. The Ruhr strike was called off and he set up loans with America under the Dawes Plan. By 1924, the majority of economic problems had been solved but people would still be coming to terms with their losses when all their savings had been used to buy very little food.

By 1924, the people of Germany had supported the Weimar Republic many times as it had stopped the Republic from failing. In 1920, during the Kapp Putsch, the citizens of Germany had refused to work until the Kreikorps had left Berlin. With the city at a standstill, the Freikorps had little choice but to leave. The people of Germany also supported the Republic in 1923 when they called for strikes in the Ruhr. When the French and Belgians invaded the Ruhr, the Germans believed that they could not take any more raw materials if they were not being produced or mined. It is questionable whether Germany had full support of its citizens in 1924 or just the majority. With rebellions having recently happened, I do not think that every German supported the Republic.

In the early stages after the end of the war, Germany was not seen as a viable option for trade by many European countries after seeing the horrors of the war. By 1924, the European governments had changed and were beginning to see that Germany was a country that could be traded with and was not under a dictatorship. This was confirmed when the U.S.A. loaned some money to Germany under the Dawes Plan. Although countries were beginning to trust Germany, it is obvious that they did not trust the country fully as it was not invited to be a member of the League of Nations until 1926. However, it proves that it was starting to become a respected country again.
The Treaty of Versailles caused outrage in Germany when it was published. It lost its land and territories, its industry and a large part of its army. By 1924, the problems caused by the Treaty had not been resolved as Germany was still without its colonies and territories and so it was still in the average German’s mind that it had lost the war and been punished for that fact. This hindered Germany’s foreign policy as it would remember when trading that it had lost iron and coal reserves as part of the treaty.