Key Question 2: Why were the Stresemann years considered ...

• August 1923


  Stresemann becomes Chancellor and Foreign Minister
• November 1923


  Rentenmark introduced
• August 1924


  Dawes Plan
• March 1925


  Hindenburg is elected as President after Ebert dies
• October 1925


  Locarno Pact
• September 1926


  Germany joins League of Nations
• 1926


  Stresemann awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace
• August 1928


  Kellogg Briand Pact
• September 1929


  Young Plan comes into effect
• October 1929


  Stresemann dies

  Wall Street Crash in the USA
• “The German economy is doing well only on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term loans are called in by America, most of our economy will collapse.“

  Stresemann, September 1929
• The Golden Age was the period from 1924-29 and it saw significant changes in the standard of living and the position of women. Economic prosperity reduced support for extremists like the Nazis.
• In 1923 Stresemann introduced a temporary currency - the Rentenmark.
• In 1924 the Rentenmark became the Reichsmark, a new currency backed by gold reserves.
• Due to the Dawes plan, in August 1924 reparations were reduced to Germany’s ability to pay.
• Due to the Dawes Plan, allied troops left the Ruhr in 1925.
• Due to the Dawes Plan, the USA loaned Germany $3,000 million over six years.
• In 1929 the Young plan reduced reparations from £6,600 million to £1,850 million.
• Due to the Young plan, the length of time Germany had to pay was extended to 59 years.
• Due to Stresemann's recovery:

  • Public works provided new stadiums, apartment blocks and opera houses.
  • Big businesses paid their debts so there was industrial growth.
  • There were fewer strikes between 1924 and 1929.
• The German economy was dangerously dependent on American loans.
• Rentenmark


  Temporary German currency from November 1923, which became the Reichsmak in 1924
• Hyperinflation


  When money loses its value
• Dawes Plan


  An agreement where the USA would lend Germany $3,000 million over six years
• Young Plan


  This lowered the reparations payment to £1,850 million and gave Germany 59 more years to pay
• Treaty of Versailles


  This decided how Germany was going to be treated after WW1
• Locarno Pact


  An agreement on borders signed by Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
• Kellogg Briand Pact

  65 countries including Germany agreed to resolve conflict peacefully
• Stresemann:

  • ended the hyperinflation crisis.
  • arranged American loans that helped the German economy recover.
  • re-established the international position of Germany.
• Germany had the best paid workers in Europe by 1928.
• 1924 -1931 more than two million new homes were built.
• In the golden age, there were tax breaks, land grants and low-interest loans for new houses
• unemployment Insurance Law 1927 - unemployment benefits
• In the golden age, there were benefits for war veterans, war widows, single mothers and the disabled.
• In the golden age, women over 20 were given the vote
• In the golden age, there were growing numbers of women in new areas of employment - the civil service, teaching, social work, shops work, in factories
• In the golden age, women enjoyed more social freedom, socially - went out unescorted, drank and smoked in public and were more fashion conscious
• In the golden age, middle class had been bankrupted by hyperinflation and struggled to get professional jobs
• In the golden age, farmers struggled to increase production
• In the golden age, 9% of the working population were unemployed (6% in 1924)