Flashcards for the topic

Standard of Living (1924–29)

Wages rose 25%, working week shortened from 50 to 46 hours, unemployment fell from 2 million (1926) to 1.3 million (1928), 100,000+ new homes built. | BUT: improvements were fragile and depended on US loans. Middle classes still bitter from losing savings in 1923.

Women in Politics & Law

Constitution gave women equal rights and the vote in 1918. By 1932, 112 women were elected to the Reichstag. Equal rights in marriage and all professions written into law. | BUT: rarely treated equally in practice.

Women at Work & Leisure

More women in part-time jobs in retail and offices. Female doctors doubled from 2,500 to 5,000 (1925–32). "New women" — short hair, more independent, went out unaccompanied. | BUT: still paid 33% less than men, expected to quit when married, trade unions hostile to women workers.

Cultural Changes (the "Golden Twenties")

Freedom of speech + economic recovery led to a cultural boom. New art movements: Expressionism (Otto Dix), Modernism, New Objectivism. Bauhaus design school influential. Cinema boomed — Metropolis (1926) a landmark film. | BUT: right wing said it undermined German values; left wing said it was wasteful spending.

The Rentenmark (1923)

Date: November 1923 | Cause: Hyperinflation destroyed the old currency. | Event: Stresemann created a new currency backed by Germany's land and gold. | Consequence: Inflation ended. Germans trusted money again.

The Dawes Plan (1924)

Date: April 1924 | Cause: Germany couldn't pay reparations after the Ruhr crisis. | Event: US banker Dawes reduced reparations to £50 million/year and US banks loaned Germany $25 billion. | Consequence: Economy recovered — industrial output doubled by 1928. But recovery depended on US loans.

The Young Plan (1929)

Date: August 1929 | Cause: Germany still struggling with the full reparations debt of £6.6 billion. | Event: Total debt cut to £2 billion; Germany given 59 more years to pay. | Consequence: Lower taxes, more jobs, more confidence — but Nazis furious it extended payments further.

The Locarno Pact (1925)

Date: 1 December 1925 | Cause: Stresemann wanted to rebuild Germany's reputation abroad. | Event: Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium agreed borders and peace. Unlike Versailles, Germany signed as an equal. | Consequence: France promised peace; Rhineland to be permanently demilitarised. Germany treated as a major power again.

Germany Joins the League of Nations (1926)

Date: September 1926 | Cause: Stresemann negotiated entry after years of exclusion. | Event: Germany became a member and got a seat on the Council. | Consequence: Huge boost to Weimar's prestige — Germany seen as a stable, respected nation.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

Date: August 1928 | Cause: France and USA wanted to prevent future wars. | Event: Germany and 61 other nations signed a pact promising not to use war to achieve foreign policy goals. | Consequence: Another sign Germany was back on the world stage as an equal.

Impact of Stresemann's Policies

Date: 1924–1929 | Cause: Economic and diplomatic recovery under Stresemann. | Event: Support for extreme parties fell (from 40% in 1924 to 28% in 1928). Only 6 coalition governments in this period vs 9 between 1919–23. Political violence died down. | Consequence: Weimar Republic became more stable — but weaknesses of the constitution were never fixed, and everything depended on US loans.

Death of Stresemann (1929)

Date: 3 October 1929 | Cause: Heart attack after 6 years as foreign minister. | Event: Stresemann died — the key moderate holding the Republic together was gone. | Consequence: A huge blow to the Weimar Republic. A world economic crisis (Wall Street Crash) followed weeks later, unleashing a new wave of political and economic chaos.