To What Extent Can the Years 1924-1929 Be Described as a Period of Recovery and Stability in Germany

To What Extent Can The Years 1924-1929 Be Described as a Period of Recovery and Stability in Germany?

By mid-1923 the German economy was in ruins and the Weimar Republic was close to collapse. However a number of changes in economic policy led to economic recovery from 1924 onwards. Much of the credit for the transformation must go to Gustav Stresemann. Stresemann, who was a more skilful politician than Ebert became chancellor in August 1923. Although he was only Chancellor for a few months he remained the most influential politician in Germany as the government attempted to recover from the misfortunes of the early 1920s. He was a committed nationalist and only believed that Germany’s problems could only be resolved by moderation and working with other countries.

Systematically, Gustav Stresemann managed to build up Germany’s economy again. The Dawes Plan of 1924 helped to sort out Germany’s economic chaos and also helped to get the economies of Britain and France moving again. The Dawes Plan was an attempt in 1924 to solve the reparations problem. The USA loaned Germany 800 million marks to help revive its ruined economy. The reparations payments were also spread over a longer period giving Germany plenty of time. Some of the money went into German businesses, public works such as swimming pools, sports stadiums and apartment blocks. As well as providing facilities these projects created jobs. In 1925 the Locarno Plot was signed with France and Belgium in which the countries agreed to respect the borders between them. Following that in 1926 Germany joined the League of Nations. The acceptance of Germany back into the international community was reinforced in 1928 when it was one of the 60 countries signing the Kellogg-Briand Pact against the use of war in foreign policy. Meanwhile during the mid-1920s the German citizens seemed to have accepted the Weimar Republic. There was less demand for the return of the Kaiser, who had abdicated in 1918. This stopped the political violence in Germany.

Stresemann was strongly criticised for being too willing to co-operate with Germany’s former enemies. However he remained adamant and firmly believed that revision of the Treaty of Versailles had to be done by co-operation with foreign countries. Many people disagreed, particularly Adolf Hitler. The economic boom in the Weimar Republic was uncertain as the US loans could be called in at short notice. This could cause absolute disrepair in Germany. Exports were falling and the government were spending huge amounts of money on welfare and health care. During the year of 1928 there were serious and frequent disputes between unions and employers. Therefore the unemployment rate began to rise.

There was also a massive cultural revival in Germany. Ironically in the Kaiser’s time there had been strict censorship. However the Weimar Republic allowed free declaration of ideas. During the course of this time, many writers and poets flourished, especially in the city, Berlin. There was also a reestablishment for architecture and opera. Berlin soon became a thriving centre of the arts with 120 newspapers and 40 theatres. German literature flourished, German playwrights such as Bertolt Brecht won international recognition. Various painters such as George Grosz and Hannah Hoech became well-known for their original trademarks. Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus group which brought in advanced ideas in architecture and sculpture.

Some Germans abhorred the new ideas in art and regarded them as being decadent and unpatriotic. The wished that art to celebrate the traditional values of German society. They argued that the current artistic manners, popular music, clubs, jazz etc showed how Germany was going into moral decline. Organisations such as the Wandervogel movement was a reaction to Weimar’s culture. It wanted a return to simple country values and wanted to see more help for the countryside and less dissipation in the towns.

Even politics became much more secure. To start with, there were no more attempted revolutions after 1923. The political parties that supported the Weimar democracy did extremely well in these years. Many coalitions co-operated together peacefully. Some of these parties were the Socialists (SPD), Catholic Centre Party, German Democratic Party (GDP) and German People’s Party. These parties worked well together in the years 1924-1929.

Despite the relative stability of Weimar politics in this period, both the Nazis and Communists were building up their party organisations. Even during these stable years there were four different chancellors and it was only the influence of party leaders which held the party coalitions together. Roughly 30% of the votes regularly went to parties that were opposed to the Weimar Republic. This concerned the Weimar Republic and made it anxiously fearful. In 1926 the German people elected Hindenburg as President. Hindenburg was opposed to democracy and he even wrote to the Kaiser for approval before he accepted the post.

It is considered that Stresemann’s greatest triumphs were in foreign policy. In 1925 Stresemann signed the Locarno Treaties guaranteeing not to seek to change Germany’s Western borders with France and Belgium. As an outcome Germany was accepted into the League of Nations. Here Stresemann very intelligently managed to reverse some of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, especially the terms relating to the reparations and Germany’s eastern frontiers. Before Stresemann passed away he managed to negotiate the Young Plan. This furthermore alleviated the reparations burden on Germany. This also led to the final removal of the British, French and Belgian troops from the Rhineland.

The question of international relations posed a big thing for Germany. Many nationalists attacked Stresemann for joining the League of Nations and also for signing the Locarno Pact. The Nationalists saw it as an acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles. Additionally many communists attacked Locarno perceiving it as part of a plot against the Communist government in the USSR. Despite all the progress Germany made, it was still a problematic place.