The Importance of Gustav Stresemann Objective To be

The Importance of Gustav Stresemann Objective: To be able to explain the importance of Gustav Stresemann

The man From birth until 1923 Weimar was dogged by problems l 1924 -29 it became calmer - Gustav Stresemann l DIFFER l

Dawes Plan 1924 l French/Belgium troops occupied Rhur l Stresemann attended meeting BRI/FR/USA l Allowed Germany to repay only what it could afford l It was a success but not all people felt this way – it didn’t reduce reparations

Inflation controlled 1923 l Stresemann called in the worthless rentenmark, burned them l One rentenmark was worth 300 billion Great success as people accepted it immediately

French leave the Ruhr 1923 l Stresemann called off the passive resistance strike in the Ruhr l Agreed to start repaying reparations l Persuaded French to leave Ruhr

Foreign Affairs Locarno Pact 1925 – accepted borders laid down in TOV, agreeing loss of Alsace Lorraine l As Ger had shown goodwill it paved way for them joining the League of Nations in 1926 l l 1928 – Kellog Brand Pact 60 countries not to invade one another l Not everybody was happy, people saw it as giving German land away to French

Economic Growth l Stresemann borrowed 25. 000 million gold marks, mainly from USA l Used to help industry – it boomed, led to prosperity in Germany l Cultural life boomed – roaring twenties Marlene Dietrich Germany is dancing on a volcano Stresemann

Reforms l Stresemann introduced laws to make life better for the working classes l 3 million homes were built

Impact of Recovery Weimar Republic was stable l Decline in extremism e. g. communists and Nazis – greater support for democracy l

The Golden Age? People had more money to spend – became pleasure capital of Europe l Little censorship – artists flocked to Berlin l

Dancing on a volcano l Although Ger did experience economic recovery there were still problems in Ger l Ger economy became dependent on US loans l Invested money put in projects that required time l 1927 first signs of depression