STRESEMANN’S ACTIONS

THEIR SIGNIFICANCE

1. After the humiliation of Versailles, it seemed that Germany was once again being forced to surrender and publicly acknowledge its own weakness.
2. Paved the way for international negotiations, with Britain and France anxious to avoid a repetition of France’s heavy-handed tactics. The Dawes Plan and French withdrawal from the Ruhr, 1924-5, were the results.
3. Provided Hitler and the Nazis with the opportunity to challenge the Weimar Republic.

• Stresemann used the President’s emergency decree to enforce the new currency.
• The Rentenmark was based on a mortgage of all land and industry, so was relatively secure.
• Each Rentenmark was exchanged for one trillion old marks and the supply of new currency was strictly limited.

1. The currency was stabilised, and purses and wallets could be used again.
2. The Allies saw that the Germans were serious about stabilising the economy and paying reparations.
3. The Allies saw Stresemann as a leader with whom they could do business.

1. Reparations were paid on time.
2. This was the first sign that the Allies were prepared to take Germany’s plight seriously and offer constructive assistance.
3. The German economy seemed to be beginning to recover, but was heavily dependent on foreign loans.

• Stresemann signed a series of treaties with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy.
• Stresemann accepted Germany’s western borders.
• All countries renounced the use of invasion and force, except in self-defence.
• Germany also signed arbitration treaties with Poland and Czechoslovakia, renouncing the use of force.

1. Germany was reassured that there would be no further French invasion, such as had happened in 1923, although it was clear that she still wanted to revise her eastern borders.
2. It seemed that the Allies were increasingly seeing the western and eastern parts of the treaty as two separate issues.
3. The first Rhineland zone was evacuated before the end of 1925, with hopes that a total evacuation would be completed well ahead of 1935.

1. Stresemann showed that he was prepared to co-operate with the east, as well as the west, to further his goals.
2. Stresemann was able to put mild pressure on the West to improve its relations with Germany, through fear of Germany moving closer to the USSR.
3. Germany was able to continue rearming in secret, beyond the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles.

1. Germany used its position to raise matters of German interest, such as disarmament and the early withdrawal of the forces of occupation from the Rhineland.
2. Now that Germany seemed committed to international peace, the Inter-Allied Military Control Commission, monitoring Germany’s compliance with the military terms of Versailles, was withdrawn.
3. Stresemann was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1. It was hoped that this further substantial easing of reparations would no longer make it a major issue, as France would still receive the money she demanded, but Germany would not be put under continuous pressure.
2. The Allies agreed to end their occupation of the Rhineland in 1930, 5 years early.
3. The impact of the Wall Street Crash, in October 1929, effectively ended all payment of reparations.

1. This agreement was seen as strengthening the League of Nations.
2. It seemed to represent a moment of genuine international goodwill and to herald a period of stability and co-operation.
3. For the first time all major powers were involved.