The French left the Ruhr and Stresemann was able to resolve hyperinflation by establishing a new currency. Now the Ruhr was accessible, Germany could once again use it to find raw materials, this was important for trading and its relationships with other countries. Even though Germany got what they wanted the plan to call off passive resistance was still unpopular, especially with right wing extremists; they claimed it was a sign of weak government for example, Stresemann had ‘given in’ to the French. Hyperinflation caused the mark to become almost worthless; therefore a new currency was introduced based on the value of all the land within Germany. People accepted the new unit of money as the Rentenmark. This change was successful in helping Germany’s struggling economy because it increased its confidence and made it possible for people to survive; it gave a good impression of Stresemann and people began to gain hope that Weimar was on the right path for its recovery. However those who lost savings were not compensated and they felt cheated and blamed the government. America helped Germany to pay its reparations by lending them money as they were struggling, this was known as the Dawes Plan. They did not want to see Germany become socialist.
In April 1924, Stresemann agreed the Dawes Plan which addressed the reparations debt issue. Charles Dawes had been asked by the Allies to resolve Germany’s non-payment. He agreed that the annual reparations would be reduced to an affordable level; he also agreed that American banks would invest in German industry. The economy had been boosted by the French leaving the Ruhr as Germany had access to raw materials, with more financial support from the US industrial output doubled. The Dawes Plan was significant in German recovery because it put the country in a stable economic position. It gave them a longer period of time to pay the reparations while Germany’s imports and exports with other countries increased as well as employment; the government income from taxation also improved. It was all beginning to look hopeful that Germany was going to recover but it was all reliant on the US loans. The next step for Stresemann was to gain support and trust from other countries.
In October 1925 Stresemann signed the Locarno Pact, this was step was helped by the progress he made in the international affairs. The Treaty was between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium. Germany agreed to retain its new 1919 border with France and Belgium in return that the Allied troops left the Rhineland; France promised peace with Germany and the powers of the Pact were to talk about Germany joining the League of Nations. Stresemann saw this as a major achievement as Germany was being treated equally and it was not dictated to. This progress with other countries meant the Germany was starting to be trusted again. It enabled Germany to converse with other countries to improve and fix problems; Germany needed support and by proving they can be trusted they would gain this respect and support. It was also important that Germany in 1926 was accepted into the League of Nations because it allowed them to be widely accepted and was another step towards German equality with other countries. The aims of the League would also help German recovery both economically and with all people. Some Germans saw Stresemann as weak as he did not try to regain land lost in Treaty of Versailles so again was ‘giving in’ to France. Some army generals believed Stresemann should had built an army and tried to overturn Treaty of Versailles. Even with the US loans the countries reparations debt was still proving a problem so Stresemann adopted into the Young Plan.
He made further progress with the reparations issues in 1929, the last year of his life. He agreed and signed the Young Plan which was set up by the Allies and headed by Owen Young, an American banker. The Young Plan reduced the total reparations from £6.6 billion to £2 billion and Germany was given a further 59 years to pay off the debts. This was very successful and important in Germany’s recovery because it allowed taxes to be lowered; this in turn created spending power which boosted industry and employment. It created more opportunities for the country as they were able to import more goods and trade more freely without the big reparations costs and short time scale to off the debt.
In conclusion I believe that all of Stresemann’s achievements were significant in Germany’s recovery. Although each term has its own individual importance, they fit together and without each other they wouldn’t work. The Dawes Plan was important because without America’s investment the country wouldn’t be able to continue with its stable economy and probably result back to hyperinflation. The young Plan also helped the economy stay stable as by reducing the reparations debts, Germany could invest more money in its trading and in turn give money back in goods to America. Whereas the Locarno treaty didn’t boost the economy as such but it made the country begin to feel trusted and proved that Germany could be peaceful. Stresemann was very successful in helping Weimar in its recovery, without his support it would have been hated for many more years and the country would have got into an even worse state.
