By the end of 1928 Germany achieved the same levels of production as before World War I and exports were on the increase.
Secondly I will go onto Foreign Policy. It seemed that Gustav Stresemann was the most able statesman of the Weimar years. Due to Stresemann, Germany broke out of the diplomatic isolation of the early post war years and were accepted as a valuable and trusted member of the international community. In 1925 Germany joined with France and Belgium to sign the Locarno Pact, this meant that Germany accepted her western borders and agreed to never use force again. Again in 1926 Germany was welcomed into the League of Nations, this gave them international respect, however this did nothing for Germany. With all the signings of treaties and friendly handshakes going on it was unable to mask deep suspicions, which continued to plague relations between Germany and its neighbors. Stresemann spoke of a ‘new era of co-operation among the nations, however it was clear that he hadn’t accepted the Treaty of Versailles but was in every way determined to dismantle it. When signing the Locarno pact Stresemann hoped to lead an early evacuation of the Rhineland. When attending the League of Nations after 1926, he was able to use these occasions to air German grievances on one international stage. At the same time Germany was secretly and illegally rearming. The only problem was, the Treaty of Versailles strictly forbade this rearmament. Even more significant was the fact that Stresemann made no guarantee at Locarno to respect the eastern frontiers with Poland and Czechoslovakia. He hoped by gradually improving relations with the West, he would be allowed to make changes to Germany’s eastern frontiers.
Thirdly I will go onto Politics. The majority of Germany had little genuine enthusiasm for the Republic. Many co-operated with it merely because there was no real alternative.
Right-wing nationalists savaged the Dawes and Young Plans. They felt that the payment of reparations was an admission that Germany had caused the war, and to them they hadn’t. Nationalists were appalled that the government had agreed to continue paying out for a further 59 years. They even accused the government of selling German children into slavery to the Allies.
During this period of stability, support for democracy grew, although there seemed to be a significant minority.
Lastly I will go onto Culture. A cultural revival occurred with a censorship was removed from pictures and artists, architects and poets became flourished. Germany was finally getting itself back together but due to the censorship being removed this offended many people living in the regions of Germany.
In my opinion the Weimar Republic was quite successful in the way that it helped Germany to overcome many problems that I have mentioned above. Although a lot of the population was not overly pleased by some of the decisions that they made. Worst things could have happened if they had not made the sacrifices that they had done in the years of 1924 – 1929, for instance the population of Germany could still be paying Great Britain and France war reparations.
By Natalie Hamblett
