Invasion of the Ruhr:
Germany justified the Non-payment of reparations in January 1923 using the invasion of the Ruhr by 60 000 French troops and hyperinflation as evidence they could not afford reparation payments. The Dawes plan (1924) helped to solve the issue of reparations and the invasion of the Ruhr was eventually solved when Stresemann came to chancellorship and abolished the passive resistance policy in favoured by the Cuno government as part of his foreign policy.
Stresemann’s foreign policy:
The grand coalition was formed and this was more popular than the Cuno government as the SPD was the most popular political party in Germany at the time. Stresemann was the driving force behind the Dawes plan and his foreign policy helped to improve international relations. His foreign policy increased sympathy for Germany and leniency was also improved as the harsh reparation schedule was renegotiated. His abolition of the policy of passive resistance eventually brought the invasion of the Ruhr to an end. This led to increased support for the Weimar regime as it was seen to be a return to power for Germany by the public. This also encouraged loans from the USA as shown by the 800million mark loan which was an integral part of the Dawes plan.
Strong leadership:
Stresemann’s foreign policy also highlighted the fact that Germany had been lacking strong leadership. Stresemann became a popular figure in Weimar Germany and helped to restore many citizens’ faith in the constitution and also in their country. There was also increased support from the elites as whilst they actively disliked Weimar; they could see that there was no viable alternative.
The Munich Putsch:
The attempted putsch in Munich in October 1923 failed for a number of reasons, the increasing popularity of Weimar as a result of Stresemann’s strong leadership was essential to this. Other reasons include the lack of unity within the right wing which was highlighted by the failure of the putsch, the appearance of increased stability within the Weimar regime, lack of planning on behalf of the NSDAP and the fact that Ludendorff had assumed that the army would support him.
The army:
The army did not support the putsch as they feared a civil war could breakout. They did not support Weimar but were willing to tolerate the constitution in order to avoid a civil war. This was shown when they were used by Weimar to suppress uprisings from the left. They did this by force however refused to engage in violent conduct towards the right wing uprisings but refused to support them also. This shows they were in favour of a right wing, more authoritarian government and were totally against communism.
Other extremist attempts:
Inadequate leadership, poor organisation and internal divisions meant that mass protests by the KPD in mid 1923 failed and were repressed without difficulty by the constitution who used the army to prevent the left wing uprisings having any real consequences.
Conclusion:
Several important factors that Weimar survived these crisis, the most important of these was a combination of strong leadership within the constitution and lack of any viable alternatives.
