The Ruhr Crisis and Locarno Overview
 These both represent the highest and the lowest point
of international relations in the 1920’s.
 The French invasion of the Ruhr sent Germany into
chaos with the real threat of anarchy and revolution.
 The French were portrayed as bullies and lost
international support.
Overview contd.
 The crisis did have a positive outcome in that the US
helped rebuild Germany through the Dawes Plan.
 The Locarno treaties promised a solution to Franco-
German tensions and set the tone for optimism in 20’s.
 This was reinforced in the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
The Ruhr Crisis
 Was a direct result of the Franco-Belgian invasion of
the Ruhr in 1923.
 France had been worried about security since the
collapse of the Anglo-American guarantee.
 France had been unsuccessful in her attempts to split
Germany up.
Ruhr Crisis contd.
 By 1921 the UK and the US were retreating into
isolationism.
 In the UK there was also growing support for the fact
that Germany had been treated too harshly.
 Lloyd George made a number of efforts to persuade
France to ease the burden on Germany by organizing a
review of German obligations at the Geneva
Conference in 1922. (This failed because of Rapallo)
Ruhr Crisis… Reparations
 Germany reparations were set at 132 billion gold marks
to the allied powers.
 France wanted to force Germany to pay in full for two
reasons:
 1) The owed money to the US and hoped to pay their
debts.
 2) Most importantly they could weaken Germany, limit
their economic recovery thus eliminating them as a
threat in the future.
Ruhr Crisis - GB
 The British needed the money from reparations to pay
the US.
 The British also knew that German economic
weakness would limit the recovery of British trade.
 The German signing of the Treaty of Rapallo also
convinced GB that if they did not reconcile with
Germany it would ally itself with Communist Russia.
Force
 The French were convinced that Germany was trying
to avoid paying and should be forced.
 French premier Raymond Poincare took a hard-line
approach to Germany and her treaty obligations.
 Only force would convince the Germans to fulfil their
obligations.
Invasion of the Ruhr
 Germany missed a delivery of timber as part of her
payments.
 The French had Germany declared in default.
 Despite British objections on 11th January 1923 French
and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr.
French goals
 The French objective was to collect reparations by seizing
mines and factories and shipping their output to France.
 German workers refused to co-operate and went on strike,
they engaged in acts of sabotage to prevent the French
from getting any materials.
 They flooded mines, burnt factories, destroyed railroads
and ships this led to violence and the death and
imprisonment of leaders of the resistance and protestors.
Greatest Crisis
 Was the catastrophic inflation that resulted from the
French invasion and the response of the Weimar
government.
 The Weimar govt was already struggling with inflation
caused by the war and its own policies made the
problem worse.
 In order to support the Ruhr workers in the strike, the
govt printed more money to the point that paper
money became worthless.
 Prices for goods rose to hundreds of billions of marks.
The collapse of the Weimar
government
 The worst hit were the middle classes who had saved
money and planned for the future.
 They had lost everything they were demoralized and
cynical about the future.
 They were vulnerable to the appeal of extremists who
promised to restore pride, faith and hope. (Hitler
made his first attempt to seize power at this time.)
Anarchy?
 Germany was in danger of a complete collapse and a
state of anarchy might develop.
 The Allies were concerned that this would open the
door to communism.
 This was an anathema to the Allies and they realized
they would have to find a solution to the problem.
Reparations?
 The collapse of the German economy meant that the
Allies were not receiving reparations payments.
 Hopes for an economic recovery were in serious
jeopardy.
 The question for the German government and the
Allies was how to resolve the crisis.
Gustav Stresemann
 Stresemann was appointed chancellor of Germany.
(Read his bio on Pg 64)
 He called off the passive resistance of the Ruhr and
announced that Germany would fulfil her obligations
under the Treaty of Versailles.
 The French were willing to come to an agreement as
the Ruhr occupation had been a failure and had
damaged relations with the UK and the US.
United States
 The US was the key player in the solution of the Ruhr
crisis and the reparations issue which had triggered it.
 The US was the wealthiest power in the world and to
whom the British and French owed huge war debts.
 The US demanded payment from GB and France but
they could not pay them if Germany did not pay them.
Dawes Plan
 This problem was resolved by Charles Dawes.(his bio is
on pg 63)
 The plan allowed Germany to schedule her payments
so that the total amount was reduced and the
deadlines were extended.
 To help Germany recover they received large loans
from the US, much private American capital flowed
into German businesses and government bonds.
Policy of Fulfilment
 The resolution of the Ruhr crisis and their willingness
to work with the Allies was part of an important policy
decision made in Germany prior to the Ruhr Crisis.
 The Weimar govt decided it would be useless to try
and defy the T of V to try and get it modified.
 They decided to comply as far as possible and create an
environment that would convince the Allies that
Germany was worthy of some revision based on her
good citizenship and co-operation.
Policy of Fulfilment
 This policy was adopted by Stresemann and his
successors and was a factor in the Golden Age of
Weimar from 1925-29.
 It proved successful in gaining a number of
concessions for Germany and rehabilitating her
international reputation.
 The Policy was discontinued with the rise of Hitler in
the 1930’s.
The spirit of Locarno
 Stresemann proposed to the Allies that Germany
would be prepared to accept the boundaries with
Belgium and France.
 They were also prepared to have their obligation
enforced by international treaty.
 This proposal for détente was welcomed by the British
and supported by the new French premier Aristide
Briand.
Locarno Treaty, 1925
 An agreement was signed in October 1925 by the UK,
France, Germany and Belgium.
 The most important part was that Germany accepted
its western borders as, determined by the T of V, with
France and Belgium as permanent.
 Germany was also allowed to join the League of
Nations.
Peace
 This was seen as a great step towards permanent peace
in Europe.
 It was also a great step in Franco-German relations as it
addressed France’s security concerns that had shaped
French aims and policy at Versailles and the years after.
 It would also allow Germany to recover without posing
a threat to Western Europe.
 It also allowed for France and GB to repair their
relationship which had been damaged because of
France’s harsh treatment of Germany.
Eastern borders
 Germany agreed to seek changes in her eastern
borders by means of discussion and arbitration with
Poland and Czechoslovakia.
 It is important to note that the western borders of
Germany had been fixed by international guarantee,
this did not occur in the east.
 GB refused to guarantee the countries to the east of
Germany.
 This allowed Germany to assume she could change her
eastern borders with little objection from the Allies.
“Spirit of Locarno”
 Germany accepted the results of WW1 in the west but
not in the east.
 The overall result of the Treaty was that of general
optimism and a sense of euphoria “the Spirit of
Locarno”!!
 Tensions had been reduced, Germany had accepted its
borders and renounced violence, prosperity was
returning to Europe.
 Democracy was flourishing in Germany.
New relationship
 There appeared to be progress towards peace and a
new relationship between the Allies and Germany.
 Germany joined the League of Nations and was given a
permanent seat on the Council.
 The Allies removed troops from the west bank of the
Rhine and the Allied commission to supervise
disarmament left in 1927.
Kellogg-Briand Pact
 By 1930 the Allied armies had left Germany and she
became an independent state once again.
 The spirit of Locarno was best exemplified in 1928 with
the signing of the Kellogg-Briand pact.
 The pact was signed by 65 countries and they agreed
by this action to renounce war as an instrument of
national policy.
 The work of Stresemann and Briand at Locarno was
recognized when they were awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1926.
Success
 Locarno was proof that WW1 and its tensions were
finally resolved.
 The economic prosperity of the 1920’s and the failure
of communism to spread beyond the USSR.
 The willingness of Germany to accept the decisions
made at the T of V.
 These were all strong indicators that a new era might
be at hand.
Did it work?
 Did Locarno accomplish a permanent peace?
 The League was not strengthened.
 The principle of collective security remained uncertain
in its practical application to meeting Europe’s long
term security needs.
Eastern borders
 It is also important to note that Germany did not agree
to accept her eastern borders.
 It is significant because this is where her worst
grievances against the T of V were found.
 The Treaty of Rapallo and co-operation with the USSR
meant that she was continuing to evade the
disarmament clause and looking to redraw the map of
Eastern Europe.
Economy
 The Locarno spirit was closely associated with the
economic health of Europe that prevailed in the 1920’s.
 It allowed reparations to be paid, political extremism
to disappear and a sense of international co-operation
to flourish.
 If Europe was to continue towards a peaceful future,
the optimism would have to be maintained and this
was based on economic health – specifically the
support of the US.
Paper 1 - Test
 We will have a practice test on the Locarno
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Conference.
Remember Paper 1 is four questions: Compare and
contrast, OPVL and a mini essay.
Take time to review all the Paper 1 test taking skills.
We will split the test into two parts: Questions 1-3 – 30
minutes and question 4 – 30 minutes.
We will two this over two days. Day 1 – 24th May and
Day 2 – 25th May.
Key words – Study Guide
 Locarno Conference
 Aristide Briand
 Austen Chamberlain (GB foreign minister)
 Gustav Stresemann
 Chapter 6 – Contemporary Europe – Phase of Hope –
The League and Locarno.
 Pgs 64 and 65 – Sources A – D. (IB History textbook)