'GOLDEN AGE' OF WEIMAR GERMANY'

• ECONOMIC RECOVERY

  • Stresemann became chancellor in August 1923. He had three aims: minimise support for extremist parties, bring inflation under control and regain Europe's respect.
  • Nov 1923, Stresemann created the Rentenmark (worth a trillion marks)
  • Stresemann established a new bank called the Rentenbank. The German public brought marks into the Rentenbank to transfer them into Rentenmarks
  • The Rentenmark was a gold standard currency. This means that the value of the Rentenmark matched the price of gold. European countries trusted gold standard currencies
  • Aug 1924, Gov created Reichsbank
• DAWES PLAN, 1924

  • Due to hyperinflation, the Allies considered to reducing Germany's reparation bill. The USA experienced a 'boom' in their economy and an American banker, Dawes created a plan for Germany:
  • Temporary reduction of reparations to £50M a year - more manageable, Stresemann called off passive resistance in the Ruhr and France agreed to leave.
  • US bank loans for German industry - USA gave Germany $25B to German industry from 1924-30, more income from trade(gov), Germany’s industrial output increased by 50% between 1923-28
• YOUNG PLAN, 1929

  • Led by an American banker called Owen Young
  • Reduction of the total reparations bill from £6.6B to £2B - government was able to lower taxes for the German citizens, Citizens could spend more, boosting German industry and creating more jobs. This gave the government more money to spend 
  • The Allies extended the time that Germany had to repay their reparation debts. Reparations had to be fully repaid by 1988 - There was less pressure on Germany to pay off the reparations debt. This improved relations between Germany and the Allies. France decided to leave the Rhineland in 1930
• LOCARNO PACT, 1925

  • Were a series of agreements between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
  • The nations met in Locarno, Switzerland on 16th Oct and signed the pacts on Dec 1925
  • All nations entered the agreements as equals.
  • The terms of the Locarno Pact were:
  • France and Germany promised to keep peace with each other
  • Germany accepted its western borders as stated in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
  • All members promised to keep the Rhineland demilitarised.
  • To explore the possibility of admitting Germany into the League of Nations
  • This improved the reputation of the WR.
• GERMANY JOINS LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1926

  • The LON was a forum where countries could discuss problems before resorting to conflict
  • If a country wanted to join the LON as a permanent member, it had to receive 2/3 of the members’ vote
  • (French President wanted revenge)
  • Due to his anger, the ToV banned Germany from joining the LON.
  • Due to the Locarno Pact, the LON met with Stresemann to discuss membership
  • The Council settled serious disputes between countries
  • In Sep 1926, Stresemann obtained German membership of the League
  • The League permitted Germany to sit on the LON Council.
• IMPACT OF GERMANY JOINING THE LON

  • Positive impact - Boosted German citizens’ confidence in the Weimar Republic, gained support for moderate parties
  • Negative impact - Some people did not want anything to do with the League of Nations. It was associated with the hated Treaty of Versailles, created anger among extremist parties
• REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT IN WR

  • Hyperinflation increased unemployment
  • By 1926, unemployment had increased to over 20%
  • Germany’s economic recovery relied upon creating jobs 
  • Germany needed to increase its industrial production to have resources to trade with other countries
  • The government passed the Unemployment Insurance Act in 1927
  • This money funded insurance that covered unemployment and sickness
  • If an insured German didn't have a job or was unable to work due to poor health, the scheme paid them 60 Reichsmarks per week
  • Economic recovery meant that by 1928, unemployment decreased to ≈2%
• IMPROVEMENT TO WORK AND WAGES IN WR

  • It was vital for the Weimar government to keep the working classes happy
  • Communism was attractive to the workers
  • Communism threatened the success of German industry and businesses, as they were against owning private property or businesses.
  • The government introduced a series of reforms to improve working conditions:
  • They lowered the hours in a working week from 50 in 1925 to 46 in 1927
  • Workers’ ‘real’ wages rose 25% from 1925 to 1928. This measurement considers the cost of living and inflation to calculate the actual value of a worker's wages
• HOUSING IN THE WR

  • There was a housing crisis in Germany in the 1920s
  • By 1923, Germany had a shortage of 1 million homes
  • The Weimar government acted to increase the amount of suitable housing
  • The government introduced a rent tax of 15% to create building associations
  • Private companies created 37,000 new homes from 1925 to 1929. In the same period, building associations constructed 64,000 homes
  • The Weimar government employed talented architects to create these new homes
  • By 1928, the housing shortage had reduced
  • There still were not enough houses for Germany’s population
• PROGRESS IN EDUCATION IN WR

  • Education was slow to change in Weimar Germany. Most teachers would stay true to their political beliefs, churches ran most schools.
  • The WC made reforms for schools:
  • Children should attend a state-funded primary school for four years free of religious influence.
  • Encourage more lower-class students to access higher education.
  • Educational reforms achieved some success
  • 1928 - number of students in higher education had increased to 110,000.
  • Opposition:
  • Churches didn't like their influence being taken away. HC families didn't want their children to learn w LC
• WOMEN IN WG- POLITICS

  • Women had impressed the other political parties with how they had stepped into the world of work. The parties believed it was 

  fair to reward them for their sacrifice

  • The WC placed women’s right to vote into law
  • All 21+ aged women could vote. Same access to voting German men have.
  • More progressive than most European countries
  • German women were active in politics
  • Elections usually had a 90% turnout of women voters
  • In 1920, there were 111 women elected as party representatives in the Reichstag
• WOMEN IN WG - LEISURE

  • The right to vote and increased working opportunities allowed women the freedom to express themselves
  • These ‘New Women’ could:
  • Buy more revealing clothes
  • Cut their hair short
  • Wear more makeup
  • Smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol
  • Be focused more on their careers than on becoming wives and mothers
  • Companies used the image of the ‘New Woman’ to sell their products
  • This was a tactic used by cosmetic companies
• PROGRESS IN WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT

  • By 1918, the percentage of employed women was 75%
  • Article 109 in the Weimar Constitution gave women the right to access all professions on an equal standing to men
  • The retail sector employed lots of women on a part-time basis
  • There was an increase in women employed as teachers and doctors
  • Trade unions - negative reaction
  • Men dominated the trade unions
  • They believed that equality for women in the workplace would negatively affect male workers
  • They resented ‘double earners.’ This term referred to households where the husband and wife both worked
• WEIMAR ART

  • Expressionism in Weimar Germany used exaggerated figures in violent scenes - makes the audience uncomfortable, and makes them question the society they live in.
  • Otto Dix - famous artist in WG. One of his paintings showed the issues soldiers faced when they returned to Germany.
  • Traditionally, the more educated upper classes controlled and produced Germany’s cultural output. In the Weimar Republic, the upper classes no longer had this power.
  • The meanings of the artworks were unclear. The pictures had many interpretations.
• WEIMAR ARCHITECTURE

  • In 1919, a new form of design called ‘Bauhaus’ emerged
  • Gropius founded the movement in WG in 1919. He aimed to connect all types of art forms
  • The Bauhaus design school existed in three German cities between 1919-1933.
  • ‘Bauhaus’ architecture uses geometric shapes to create practical buildings. The movement saw the beauty of technology and the use of familiar materials in different ways. For example, they constructed entire buildings using only concrete
  • The ‘Bauhaus’ movement inspired Weimar architects such as  Mendelsohn
  • He designed the Einstein Tower.
• WEIMAR CINEMA - +POP

  • By 1929 there were roughly 500 cinemas across Germany
  • Germany began to compete with American films
  • The film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920) was one of the first horror films. The director created the first ‘plot twist’ ending in cinema history
  • Murnau directed the film Nosferatu (1922). World’s first vampire film. Many films today use the tension methods Murnau created
  • The WG funded Metropolis (1926) Lang created a modernist Sci-fi film that centred on the impact of tech in the 20th century life Unsuccessful but influenced many modern-day films such as Star Wars