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
 1924-29 it became
calmer - Gustav
Stresemann
 DIFFER

Dawes Plan 1924
French/Belgium troops occupied Rhur
 Stresemann attended meeting
BRI/FR/USA
 Allowed Germany to repay only what it
could afford


It was a success but not all people felt this
way – it didn’t reduce reparations
Inflation controlled 1923
Stresemann called in the worthless
rentenmark, burned them
 One rentenmark was worth 300 billion

Great success as people accepted it
immediately
French leave the Ruhr 1923
Stresemann called off the passive
resistance strike in the Ruhr
 Agreed to start repaying reparations
 Persuaded French to leave Ruhr

Foreign Affairs
Locarno Pact 1925 –
accepted borders laid
down in TOV,
agreeing loss of
Alsace Lorraine
 As Ger had shown
goodwill it paved way
for them joining the
League of Nations in
1926


1928 – Kellog Brand
Pact 60 countries not
to invade one another

Not everybody was
happy, people saw it
as giving German
land away to French
Economic Growth
Stresemann borrowed 25.000 million gold
marks, mainly from USA
 Used to help industry – it boomed, led to
prosperity in Germany
 Cultural life boomed – roaring twenties
Marlene Dietrich

Germany is dancing on a volcano
Stresemann
Reforms
Stresemann introduced laws to make life
better for the working classes
 3 million homes were built

Impact of Recovery
Weimar Republic was
stable
 Decline in extremism
e.g. communists and
Nazis – greater
support for
democracy

The Golden Age?
People had more
money to spend –
became pleasure
capital of Europe
 Little censorship –
artists flocked to
Berlin

Dancing on a volcano
Although Ger did experience economic
recovery there were still problems in Ger
 Ger economy became dependent on US
loans
 Invested money put in projects that
required time
 1927 first signs of depression
