Foreign Relations

• What were the Locarno treaties?

  A series of agreements between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
• When did the leaders meet for the Locarno treaties?

  16th October 1925
• When were the Locarno treaties signed?

  1st Dec 1925
• What did all nations enter the Locarno treaties as?

  Equals - unlike the diktat of the Treaty of Versailles
• What were the terms of the Locarno treaties?

  • France and Germany promised to keep peace with each other
  • Germany accepted its existing borders with Belgium and France as stated in the Treaty of Versailles
  • All members promised to keep the Rhineland demilitarised
• Why did they promise to keep the Rhineland demilitarised?

  To explore the possibility of Germany joining the League of Nations
• How did extremist parties react to Germany accepting its western borders?

  They were infuriated
• What did the Locarno treaties do?

  • Reduced the possibility of future wars
  • Improved the reputation of the Weimar Republic internationally
• What was the League of Nations?

  A forum where countries could discuss problems before resorting to armed conflict
• What the result of the Locarno treaties in relation to the League of Nations?

  • Because of the treaties, the League of Nations agreed to meet with Stresemann to discuss membership
  • September 1926 - Stresemann obtained membership to the League
  • The League allowed Germany to sit on the League of Nations Council
• When was the Kellogg-Briand Pact signed?

  27th Aug 1928
• What did the Kellogg-Briand Pact state?

  War should never be used as a means for resolving disputes amongst countries
• What were the impacts of the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

  Positives:

  • Boosted German citizens' confidence in the Weimar Republic
  • The world saw Germany as a respectable and trustworthy state and could now enter into treaties as equal to the other signatories

  Negatives:

  • The pact did not remove the military restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles which angered extremist parties
  • Many Germans thought other countries would move towards disarmament but the pact did not promise that
• How had Stresemann's work in foreign relations impact the Reichstag?

  • He reduced support for extremist parties
  • No political assassinations between 1924 and 1929
  • Six coalition governments between 1924 and 1929 which was much fewer than pre-1924
• When did Ebert die?

  1925
• Who replaced Ebert as President?

  Paul von Hindenburg
• Who was Paul von Hindenburg?

  • Elected as President at 77 years old
  • Was army chief of staff under the Kaiser
  • Had strong nationalist and conservative views
  • The right-wing middle class respected Hindenburg and as a result increased their support of the Weimar Republic
• What happened at the end of October in 1929?

  Wall Street crash
• How did the Wall Street crash affect Germany?

  It destroyed all of Stresemann's work to stabilise Germany
• When was Stresemann foreign minister?

  1923 - 1929