Indrani Goswami

IBDP YR 1
Session May 2021

Justify the era between 1924 to

1929 was called the Golden Era
After losing World War One, being forced to take the blame for the conflict and the
subsequent issues surrounding payment of reparations, Germany was an international outcast.
Germans were still incredibly bitter about their treatment in the Treaty of Versailles, where
they also lost territory on all sides. The years 1924 to 1929 became known as the ‘Golden
Years’, as foreign relations improved and the economy prospered. Stresemann worked to
improve Germany’s international relations. In the Locarno Pact of 1925, France, Belgium and
Germany agreed to respect each other’s borders. In 1926, Germany was accepted into the
League of Nations. The Kellogg Briand pact in 1928. The ending of hyperinflation.
The Dawes Plan, alongside a sudden injection of foreign loans. Despite the trauma, the
weimar culture also improved. This essay will justify the era between 1924 to 1929 was
called the golden era.

The Locarno Pact of 1925 was an agreement signed on 1st December 1925 between Britain,
France, Belgium, Italy and Germany. Stresemann believed that through signing the Pact, it
would increase confidence in Germany amongst her own people but also other European
powers.
The Locarno Pact had three main aims: To secure borders of the nations of Europe after the
First World War. Germany agreed to the border with France, and as a result, France agreed
that they would be in a state of peace with Germany, To ensure the permanent
demilitarisation of the Rhineland. This was a key condition argued for by France. France had
been invaded several times in the previous century by Germany, so France was
understandably wary about German military force, To begin negotiations to allow Germany
into the League of Nations.
Stresemann signed the Pact as he believed it would make a military conflict in Europe less
likely. As a result of the work Stresemann had done for Germany in developing her foreign
relations, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926. As well as personal glory for
Stresemann, the signing of the Locarno Pact showed that Germany was starting to be treated
as an equal partner in foreign affairs. The agreement was made with Germany and not forced
upon it like the Treaty of Versailles. As a result, many moderate Germans had greater
confidence in Stresemann and the Weimar Republic. This paragraph suggests Gustav
Stresemann's first step taken towards the recovery of Germany.

When the League of Nations was set up as part of the Versailles agreement Germany was
initially excluded. By signing the Locarno Treaties, Germany showed that it was accepting
the Versailles settlement and so a year later was accepted as a permanent member of the
Council of League, making it one of the most powerful countries in the League. This
paragraph clearly states the acceptance of Germany in the league.

The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an international agreement between 62 countries which also
included Germany as an equal partner.
The overall aim of the agreement was for countries to agree not to use war as a method of
ending international disputes. Crucially the agreement included the United States. For
Germany the Kellogg-Briand Pact was significant. Firstly, Germany was included as an equal
partner to the other 61 countries, unlike the Treaty of Versailles. Secondly, it showed that
Germany was viewed as a serious power that could be respected and trusted. This paragraph
explains the position Germany had earned due to Stresemann.

Stresemann’s single greatest achievement as Chancellor was to end hyperinflation. He did

this in just three months by:
Calling off the ‘passive resistance’ of German workers in the Ruhr. This helped Germany’s
economy because goods were back in production and the Government could stop printing
money to pay striking workers.
Promising to begin reparations payments again. This persuaded France and Belgium to end
the occupation of the Ruhr by 1925.
Introducing a new currency called the Rentenmark. This stabilised prices as only a limited
number were printed meaning money rose in value. This helped to restore confidence in the
German economy.
Reducing the amount of money the government spent (700,000 government employees lost
their jobs) so that its budget deficit reduced. This paragraph suggests the way Stresemann had
dealt with hyperinflation.

The payment of reparations, which had caused the hyperinflation crisis in the first place, had
to be resumed, but Stresemann’s decisive actions in the autumn of 1923 gained Germany the
sympathy of the Allies. They agreed to renegotiate payments and this led to the Dawes plan.
Amount of reparations to be paid stayed the same overall (50 billion Marks) but Germany
only had to pay one billion Marks per year for the first five years and 2.5 billion per year after
that. Germany was loaned 800 million Marks from the USA.
This paragraph clearly states Stresemann's achievement in economic recovery. 

Weimar experienced a flourishing culture, in Berlin especially, that saw developments in

architecture, art and the cinema. This expression of culture was greatly helped by the ending
of censorship in the new republic. The most influential visual arts movement in Weimar was
the Bauhaus School, founded by Walter Gropius in the town of Weimar in 1919. Bauhaus’
impact on German architecture was limited because the movement only focused on
architecture after 1927 and it was then suppressed by the Nazis in 1933. After this most of its
followers fled abroad, where they developed their work further.
Under Stresemann’s leadership, from 1924 onwards Weimar’s economy recovered, Germany
regained international credibility and social change accelerated, until the disaster of 1929’s
Wall Street Crash. The essay has been justified.

Bibliography
https://www.tutor2u.net/history/reference/the-kellogg-briand-pact
Mastering Modern World History By Norman Lowe
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-Stresemann