Weimar Republic Economic Issues and Consequences

Treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay (6.6) billion pounds in reparations, considered unaffordable by Germans.
January 1923: Germany failed to make payments, leading to French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, Germany's industrial region.
French troops extracted reparations in raw materials and goods.
German government ordered a strike among workers, halting industrial production.
The government continued printing banknotes, leading to currency collapse and hyperinflation.
Prices soared rapidly, necessitating workers to carry wages in wheelbarrows.

Hyperinflation resulted in significant hardships:
- Wiped out personal savings, especially for the middle class.
- Unemployment rose significantly.
- A middle-class family could not afford basic necessities (e.g., bread).

Middle-class discontent led to loss of support for the Weimar government.
Opposition linked problems to the Treaty of Versailles, fostering resentment towards Weimar politicians.
November 1923: Chancellor Gustav Stresemann introduced the Rentenmark, replacing the German mark.
Stresemann negotiated the Dawes Plan in 1924 to reorganize reparations.

Actions stabilized finances and reduced debt, leading to a recovery period from (1923-1929).
This era was viewed as the Golden Age of Weimar, with hopes for lasting democracy.

Opinions differed on whether recovery masked the deep-rooted weaknesses of the Weimar Republic.