Weimar Republic Recovery

In 1923, Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. His domestic and international policies helped the German economy to recover, resulting in the 'Golden Years' Of the Weimar Republic.

1. Stresemann was chancellor of Weimar between August and November 1923. He made important changes to help Germany recover from its economic crisis.

2. In September 1923, he ended the strike in the Ruhr. This reduced tension between Germany, France and Belgium, and meant the government could stop compensation payments to strikers.

3. In November 1923, he replaced the German Mark with the Rentenmark to stabilise Germany's currency.

4. He created the 'great coalition' - a group of moderate, pro-democracy socialist parties in the Reichstag who agreed to work together. This allowed parliament to make decisions more quickly.

In November 1923, Stresemann became Foreign Minister. He tried to cooperate more with other countries and build better international relationships. Germany's economy prospered as a result.

1. The Dawes Plan was signed in 1924. Stresemann secured France and Belgium's withdrawel from the Ruhr and agreed more realistic payment dates for the reparations. The USA lent Germany £40 million to help pay off its other debts. It helped Germany's economy, but meant its success was dependent on American loans.

2. The Young Plan was agreed in 1929. The allies agreed to reduce the reparations to a quarter of the original amount, and Germany was given 59 years to pay them.

3. The Locarno Pact was signed in October 1925. G, F and Bel agreed to respect their joint borders - even those created as a result of the ToV.

4. The League of Nations allowed Germany to join in 1926. Germany was re-established as an international power.

5. The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed by Germany in 1928, alongisde 65 other countries. They promised not to use violence to settle disputes.

1. Thanks to Stresemann life was beginning to look better for Germany.

2. But he died in October 1929, before the disaster of the Wall Street Crash - a massive stock market crash in the USA which started a global economic depression.

3. The plans he had agreed would only work if the USA had enough money to keep lending to Germany - but after the crash, it didn't. Things were suddenly going to get worse again.

Germany's economic recovery helped restore faith in the Weimar Republic - there was strong support for pro-Weimar political parties in the 1928 elections.