Why, despite its enemies, was the Weimar Republic still in existence in 1929?

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April Betts

10/11/07

Why was the Weimar Republic still in existence in 1929?

There are varying reasons as to why the Weimar Republic did not collapse before 1929, some of these reasons are to do with the period of economic recovery that Germany went through between 1924-9, yet some of the reasons are more to do with the politics employed in the Republic, and some are down to the social side of the country.

There are a lot of economic factors as to the Weimar Republic’s strength; one of these is the end to hyperinflation via the introduction of the Rentenmark. This began to repair the broken economy and made the public have more confidence in the government due to the fact that the crisis was effectively dealt with.

After this, the currency was no longer that much of an issue for the Weimar Republic, and this led to the recovery of the German industry (the invasion of the Ruhr was over so production could resume). The output of heavy industry in 1928 reached the same level as 1913; where production was extremely high due to pre-war artier production. But this wasn’t just because of an increase in the work put into production; but also down to the fact that production methods were improved and more efficient advances were made in the fields of steel and coal production; allowing Germany to regain it’s status as a producer and salvage it’s prestige and potency as a strong country. This helped the Weimar Republic stay in existence as it would have pleased both nationalists (increase in German status) and industrialists (increase in profits).

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        This increased production incited a wave of investment; both from abroad and from inside the country. Foreign bankers were lured by attractive interest rates, and the foreign investors were enticed by cheap labour and low production costs. More money in the economy allowed the government to introduce more social policies, and thus subdue the troubled population.

        Not only had the investment strengthened, Cartels increased in popularity. A cartel is where different industrial groups worked together for mutual gain. This improved the strength of the industry and in turn the economy and Weimar Government profited.

        Exports of materials; which was a ...

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