Weimar Republic

Gustav Stresemann and Charles Dawes
In 1923, the Weimar Republic was on the verge of collapse, but, surprisingly, the crisis was the start of a period of stability and success. The period 1923-1929 was a time when the economy boomed and cultural life flourished in Germany.
This dramatic turnabout happened because Germany was saved by two people - Gustav Stresemann and Charles Dawes.

Gustav Stresemann had been a nationalist, but he realised that something needed to be done to save Germany. The most important thing he did in 1923 was to organise the Great Coalition of moderate, pro-democracy parties in the Reichstag. At last, Germany had a government that could make laws! Under Stresemann's guidance, the government called off the strike, persuaded the French to leave the Ruhr and even got the rest of the world to allow Germany to join the League of Nations in 1926.
Stresemann also introduced reforms to help ordinary people such as job centres, unemployment pay and better housing.

Charles Dawes was the US budget director. In 1923, he was sent to Europe to sort out Germany's economy. Under his advice, the German Reichsbank was reformed and the old money was called in and burned. This ended the hyperinflation. Dawes also arranged the Dawes Plan with Stresemann, which gave Germany longer to pay reparations. Most importantly, Dawes agreed to America lending Germany 800 million gold marks, which kick-started the German economy.

How did the Weimar Republic Survive 1919-24?
During the time the Weimar Republic were in government, they faced a number of serious threats to power coming from various opposing parties and lack of support. These threats came from the left and right wing, and more-over problems such as the Treaty of Versailles and hyperinflation also sufficiently hindered the Weimar’s success. However due to several contributing factors the Weimar was enabled to overcome these seemingly insurmountable problems and survived from 1919-1924.
The Weimar Republic was the name given to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government, with leader Friedrich Ebert. The Weimar’s main aims were to work towards a more democratic, fair Germany, replaced what was essentially a state under autocratic rule. The Germany with which Ebert was left to reform was one of depression, instability and overcome with division in the people. Ebert promised freedom of speech, improved working conditions and a democracy to be put in place. From the beginning the Weimar’s prospects did not look good; the change from the traditional autocratic Germany to one of democracy would require an instant change and acceptance from the German people. However the Weimar managed to gained support as having lived under the rule of Kaiser and its consequences, many people welcomed democracy as positive change.
Another threat came from the Left Wing Communists, a group known as the Spartacists led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknect. They argued strongly against Ebert’s plans for a democratic Germany and seemed to impose a threat to the Weimar’s power. However Ebert successfully managed to suppress this threat with the aid of a group of anti-communist soldiers known as the Freikorps. The Freikorps crushed revolts led by the Spartacists, removing potential threat.