Weimar Government (1919-33)
- Created by: PhoebeM
- Created on: 05-02-20 14:49
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- Weimar Government (1919-33)
- Hyperinflation (1921-23)
- money became worthless
- framers refused to sell their products - people hungry in cities
- by 1923. prices were changing hour by hour
- Savings worthless - gap between m/c and w/c became non-existent
- m/c taking manual work
- Government responses:
- Stresemann - policy of fulfilment
- Govt no longer had to give money to workers in Ruhr.
- French occupation of the Ruhr led to international sympathy for Germany
- Stresemann used this to negotiate with France
- France would leave by the end of 1925
- Stresemann used this to negotiate with France
- new currency - Retenmark (1923)
- to be replaced by Reichmark
- slashed benefits
- Mortgaged industrial/agricultural land at 3.2 billion RM
- Stresemann - policy of fulfilment
- money became worthless
- Great Depression (1929-33)
- Unemployment - 5.8 million unemployed (1932)
- Government responses:
- Bruning persuaded allies to suspend reparations
- Bruning used article 48 to push through unemployment benefit cuts - led to huge increase in poverty (4 million dependent on benefits)
- Hunger Chancellor
- cut wages of civil servants and govt employees
- German industry in decline - no support from US loans
- industrial production - down 40% (1929-32)
- Treaty of Versailles
- reparations - Inter-Allied Reparation Commission = £6,600 million
- Loss of territory - the Saar + Alsace-Lorraine
- Loss of natural resources - e.g. coal
- Streseman's vision
- Not entirely Golden Years
- Trouble exporting to USA (introduced tariffs) and Britain (traded with empire)
- Weimar economy not not creating enough jobs
- before the crash - unemployment at 1.9 mil (1929)
- USA money withdrawn = German crash
- German balance of trade was negative from 1924-28
- Dawes Plan:
- reparations reduced to £50 million per year
- US gave loan of $25 billion
- Germany had built an economic alliance with then US.
- Impact:
- welfare payments for govt employees increased
- more money spent on public work schemes, urban housing, opera housing etc.
- US wanted to protect its interests so protected Germany from Brit/French reparation demands.
- By 1928 GDP recovered to 1913 level.
- plan to encourage US investment in the economy
- USA could stand in the way of France demanding reparations
- Not entirely Golden Years
- Hyperinflation (1921-23)
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