How far did the Weimar Republic achieve Financial and Political stability in the 1920s?

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How far did the Weimar Republic achieve Financial and Political stability in the 1920’s?

The Weimar Republic was formed at the end of the ‘Great War’, in the November of 1918, after Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated and moved to Holland. Because the Kaiser had given up all powers he held over Germany, under the conditions of the armistice, it was necessary for a new government to be set up. This new government came into existence in the February of 1919, and led by Friedrich
Ebert, the official name of the parliament was the Reichstag. The government immediately went about trying to right some of the issues Germany faced; and achieve financial and political stability, however they were less than successful in some areas, and in some cases may have caused additional problems. I personally think that whilst the government did have some successes in stabilizing the situation in Germany, progress was limited and by the end of the 1920’s the issues responsible for the instabilities had not been resolved.

The German economy was in ruins at the end of WW1; this was mainly due to the harsh reparations imposed on a country that was ravished by war. By 1919, Germany was bankrupt; and the reparation bill reached £6600M in 1921, to be paid at a rate of £100M per year, an impossible figure. After failing to make the 1922 payment, the French invaded Germany’s industrial region, the Ruhr. In response, the workers there went on strike; the Weimar government backed them, and decided to print more money to pay their debts. This however, led to Hyperinflation, and the German people suffered greatly. Money became worthless; the price of a loaf of bread rose from less than a single mark, to over 2 trillion from the years 1919 to 1923. People lost their savings, and pensions became worthless. This was a failing on the government’s part, and one they sought to correct. 

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This was done by taking an action known as a monetary reset, whereby on the 15 of November, 1923, the Rentenmark was introduced. This was a temporary measure brought in to replace the previous currency, and the exchange rate was set at 1 trillion Deutschmarks for a single Rentenmark. The value of money eventually stabilised, and following that a permanent currency was introduced, named the Reichsmark. Following the stabilisation of the economy, reparation payments could resume. Under the Locarno Pact, a defining agreement for the borders between Germany, France and Belgium, the Ruhr was returned to German control. This meant ...

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