Friday 11 March 2011

Have a go at this 10 mark question

'1924-1929 was a period of success and prosperity in Germany' How far do you agree with this statement?

7 comments:

  1. Lizzie P

    I agree to an extent i agree that the period from 1924-1929 was succesful and prosperous for Germany. Gustav Stresmann became chancellor in 1923 and introduced a new curency. The Rentenmark helped solve hyperinflation so Germany became more prosperous. The Dawes Plan also helped solve hyperinflation because Germany was loaned 800 million marks by America. The time and amount of reperations to be paid back to the Allies was reduced which gave Germany time to recover from hyperinflation. The Young Plan gave Germany until 1988 to pay back the reperations. Germany also became more successful in Europe with the Locarno Treaty. This meant that Germany had to respect Belgian and French borders and France and Belgium had to respect Germany's. The Kellogg Briand Pact also helped themm to become more successful. 60 countries including Germany signed the Kellogg Briand pact agreeing that they were against war. Gustav Stresmann also stoped the left wing uprising which made it hard for extremist parties like the Communists and Nazis from gaining seats in the Reichstag.
    However, the Dawes Plan also meant that Germany was uncertain because the loans from America could be taken back at any time and ruin Germany. Also despite the lack of support, extremist parties were reorganising and getting more votes.
    In conclusion, i agree with the statement that 1924-1929 was a period of success and prosperity in Germany. Germany's relationship in Europe was improved and the economy in Germany was solved.

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  2. Leona

    I agree that 1924-1929 was a prosperous time for Germany.

    The main reason for this would be because of Gustave Stresseman who became chancellor in August 1923. He believed in solving things by moderation and working with other countries. He created a new currency, the Rentenmark, which helped with hyperinflation, put down left wing uprisings in Thuringia, dealt with the Munich Putsch and introduced the Dawes Plan (US loan of 800 million golden marks), the Locarno Pact (France, Belgium and Germany agreed to respect each others borders), the Kellog-Briand Pact (One of 60 countries against war in foreign policy) and the Yooung Plan (Extended reperations until 1988). Because of this he was a very well liked and respect man. Also, it was a time where culture flourished and many great writers, poets and artists were born.

    However, the US loans could be called in at any time which would ruin Germany's economy, peasant farmers overproduced which meant that they couldn't pay their mortgages, small shopkeepers felt threatened by bigger ones (primarily owned by Jews), some saw the new culture as a sign of moral decline and many nationalists and communists disagreed with the international relations with extremist parties like the Nazis building.

    So to conclude, I largely agree with the statement to an extent. Whereas many great things were achieved during this time and it seemed like Germany was recovering from the World War I, it wasn't without its faults as unrest began to brew among thise unhappy with the Treaty of Versailles and Gustave Stresseman because of his willingness to deal with their former enemies.

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  3. jessicaaaaa v :D -->
    I agree to some extent, the years 1924- 29 were the golden years and was the time just after Gustav Streseman became chancellor. He believed that Germanys problems could be solved only by moderation and working together with other countries- it helped that he was foreign minister.
    He introduced several ways that helped solve hyperinflation, he brought in a new currency, retenmark and reduced government spending; 700,000 government employees lost their job, the Dawes plan was agreed that USA would loan Germany money and the annual reparations payment would be reduced and longer time to be paid back. Also young plan was accepted this was further extension of time to pay reparations back.
    however there was some problems US loans could be called back at any time which could cause Germany to become ruined. also despite the lack of support, extremeist parties (nazis & communists) were been recognised and getting more votes.
    To conclude i agree to some extent with the statement. lots of good thing happened that helped germany look successful such as new currency and the plans etc. but also problems arose that could leave Germany in ruin. such as Usa calling back loans etc.

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  4. Florence


    I do agree to an extent with the statement as there was a lot achieved by the Weimar Government during this period. However there were some negatives occurred during this period also.

    Firstly, Gustav Streseman was appointed foreign minister and inside this role made a number of beneficial moves for Germany. In terms of the economy, he negotiated the Dawes plan with the American government which meant that Germany would be loaned 800 million gold marks from them to aid them in paying the reparation payments. Also, he formed the young plan which meant the reparation pay back time was extended to 1988. On the foreign policy front, he established the Locarno treaty with France and Belgium which meant that all three countries had to respect the borders shared between them. He also gained Germany a place in the league of nations, aiding their relationships with other countries. Germany also prospered in terms of culture as Marlene Dietrich became an international film star and dance bands prospered inside the German capital. Finally, industry went through a period of augmented production which gained the German people jobs and money.

    However, there were certain downfalls that were not easily recognized at the time but that were still present and would in time come into play. The American loans which Streseman worked so hard to gain were established with the threat that did the event arise when America were in trouble, they would be called in at any time without warning. Also, contrary to the belief that the Weimar government were gaining the support of the people, opposing parties such as the Nazis and the communists were gaining votes and growing in power.

    It is my belief that at the time, it would indeed have appeared to all those concerned that it was a time of prosperity as much was achieved both by the government and by the everyday German. The moral of the people will have undoubtedly gone up and indeed look like Germany was in the process of recovery. The subjects which oppose this did of course have consequences later but could not cancel out the fact that it was a time of prosperity.

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  5. I agree with the statement to an extent as I believe that those years were significant for Germany in terms of realising the goals that needed to be achieved and things that needed to be done to improve the country.

    Firstly, Gustav Streseman [the foreign minister] did many things for the country and helped to build the country up again after the hardship of 1923 by dealing with hyperinflation and building relations between countires after the war. Also, many more musician bands and film stars developed between these years which helped Germany's culture to grow and the economy improved, which meant that there was more money and people gained jobs.

    However. these years also meant that extremist parties such as the Nazis were getting more votes and support which was a downfall because this led to the uprising of Hitler and the deaths of many Jews.

    In conclusion, I believe that these years were successful and prosperous for Germany because it were the years that the German government began to understand what things were needed to be done to help the country and the people of Germany and without the key events that took place in these years, it could be argued that Germany may have never developed as well as it has and could still be suffering from economic problems.

    Dom

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  6. I agree with the statement to a certain extent because it was different in different parts of Germany.
    in the city centers everything was good because there were big supermarkets being built everywhere, this was creating many new jobs for people that live close to the cities which ment that unemployment rates were going down.

    Households had money that was worth something instead of bringing wages home in wheelbarrows and then going to the shops with millions of marks. This made the people happier and made it easier for them to go shopping.

    Also streseman signed the dawes plan which was put in place so that the reparations could be payed off for a longer period of time so that Germany had a stable economy.

    On the other hand small businesses were not bringing in enough money for the owners to live because of the big supermarkets that were buying things in bulk so that they didnt have to charge as much because it doesn't cost as much to buy in bulk so where the unemployment rates were going down when you look at the bigger picture they probably didn't change because of the small businesses going under. Also the peasent farmers that the smaller supermarkets used to buy their meat and dairy products off of wren't getting an income because the supermarkets started to import stocks from abroad.

    Streiseman had made a deal with the U.S.A in which the U.S.A loaned Germany 800 million gold marks which Germany thought was great, but the downfall of it was that the U.S.A could claim back the money with short notice and Germany had to give it back straight away. This left Germany living in hope that the U.S.A wouldn't want it back until Germanys economy was stable.

    In conclusion the period 1923-29 was a succes and period of prosperity for those living in the cities but it was unfortunatly not as good for those living in more rural areas. But if it wasn't for streseman and the U.S.A then Germany would have been in big trouble.

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  7. I partially agree with the statement. The Wiemar republic was still fairly young when hyperinflation hit Germany (due to the invasion of the Ruhr) but it recovered because of a man called Gustav Stresseman.

    Firstly, as Chancellor of Germany, he introduced the Rentenmarc and eliminated the useless Marc. (one US doller was worth 2 trillion Marcs) This immidiatly had effects on Germany because the government could pay the wages of workers with ligitimate money. With all the industry, this kick started the Germany economy until it soon looked like hyperinflation never existed.

    Secondly Gustav Stresseman, no as forign minister, signed many pacts and deals. As he was a buisness man himself, the USA trusted him enough to allow the Dawes plan to be signed. This sent millions of dollers to Germany to stop it collapsing. This was Germany's substance as it could now afford assentials to keep Germanys economy going. Without it, the Rentenmarc would have probably collapsed and Germany may have collapsed as a whole country.

    However there were some key issues that kept Germany in the 'danger zone.' For one, the Dawes plan stated if the USA ever needed its loan back, it could take it. Of course, at the time, it didnt seem like the USA would need the money due to the economic boom but after the wall street crash (or black thursday) the loans were withdrawn. This, I believe, was one of the downfalls of Wiemar Germany. Its economy on the outside may have looked good, but all of it was based on loans and plans which proved fragile. The wall street crash proved Germany couldnt have survived without loans and exposed its cracks.

    Also Wiemar Germany wasnt ready for its apparent 'growth.' Supermarkets opened in towns which seemed great because exotic foods was now available, but small shops couldnt keep up with the low prices. This caused many small shops and buisnesses to go out of buisness. middle classed shop owners would either remain unemployed or do working class jobs. This was one thing that gave support for Hitler after the Wall Street Crash.

    Overal I believe that the statement is controversial. The system seemed prosperous, but some people could easily point out flawes in the distribution of money and how the government got the money. The test was the Wall Street Crash, and who knows what would have happened if the Wall Street Crash never occured.

    Will Mitchell

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