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Gustav Stresmann was chancellor of a coalition government for 3 months in 1923. A period of leadership which was followed by his position as secretary of foreign affairs, a post held under four successive governments, testimony to his ability. He remained as foreign affairs secretary until his death in 1929. The struggle for survival of the Weimar Republic, which the title refers to, concerns mainly the period just before Stresmann’s chancellorship and indeed the time under it. Some would argue that the republic was always fighting for survival. However this was a period of particular hardship, mainly caused by the escalating rate of inflation, initiated by the reparations payments, of which only one was made, due to the down trodden state of the German economy. As there was with no visible solution the governments of Wirth and Cuno exponentially increased the amount of money being printed. We are questioning whether it was the work of Stresmann, which enabled the republic at this stage to survive. Stresmann appointed a special currency commissioner, which led to the introduction of the rentenmark (new currency). An act which along with the finance minister’s government economies, helped improve the inflation situation. These initial acts may have decreased the magnitude of the situation slightly, however the decline of the Republic would simply be delayed. Also one must question the role Stresmann played, is he to be credited simply for his sanctioning? The fact that previous governments took no action must endow him with at least some credit. However Stresmann’s key role at this stage lay elsewhere. The French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr in protest at lack of reparations, had been met with a policy of passive resitance. Costing the economy far more than complying would have done! Through negotiation with the French, Stresmann’s government was able to put an end to the occupation and subsequently the period of passive resistance. This in its self helped the economy to further its recovery. Moreover, the real importance was that this show of co-operation led to the Dawes plan. Through the Dawes plan foreign investment actually began and the republic was on the road to prosperity. Thus in order for Stresmann to be credited with responsibility for the republic’s survival, he has to be seen as the catalyst for the creation of the Dawes plan, he can also be credited for accepting it, as other more obstinate leaders may not have been so compliant. A further point is thrown up with regards the previous suggestion, it was the Reichstag who accepted it, not simply Stresmann. Also further indecision is created when we question who did the negotiating with the French? It does not seem likely that Stresmann alone brought about the agreement on passive resistance. We are now able to reconsider the initial action of introducing a new currency. The fact that the Dawes plan led to further restructuring of the monetary system suggests that it would not on its own have been enough. However the Dawes Plan did not happen straight away, therefore without the initial action by Stresmann’s government in employing a currency commissioner, perhaps the republic would have collapsed before the Dawes plan could even be catalysed. The Dawes plan itself played a major role in achieving the stability that ensued the survival. With the prospect of industrial expansion under allied supervision attracting capital back to Germany. Thus if Stresmann was responsible for the Dawes plan being in action, then we can already confirm that he played a major role in the stability of the Republic. In his time as chancellor Stresmann was the chief architect of the ‘policy of fulfilment’, that is to follow the terms of the treaty and subsequently show how impossible they are, rather than try and fight on in the face of adversity. With the goal being to win a revision and thus stabilise the Republics position in Europe and also its home economy, which would benefit from better relations with counterparts in that trade would increase. That the Ruhr invasion had reduced allied hostility takes nothing away from the work of Stresmann, who mainly in his positon as foreign affairs secretary, managed to finalise the ‘Locarno Treaties’, a climax of the fulfilment policy. Treaties, which defined borders and eventually led to the total removal of the allied occupation and acceptance into the League of Nations. Removal of allied forces, which would clearly increase moral among the population and as a natural consequence support for the government which had achieved it. That Stressmann was jointly awarded the noble peace prize defines that he did play a major role, it was his work. However, that it was a joint award reminds us that it required a great deal of work on the allies behalf as well. Reconsidering the question, if we are to take the viewpoint, that Stressman as the figurehead of the government is credited with everything that his government does then we can conclude that in terms of internal work, the survival did indeed owe everything to the work of Stressman. However without the American’s who created the Dawes Plan it seems very likely that the Republic would not have survived. Thus the survival did not owe everything to the work of Gustav Stresmann. Regarding stability, most of Stresmann’s work, in obtaining the Locarno treaties was done as foreign affairs secretary. If we dismiss the previous statement concerning the chancellor taking credit for his government’s work then we can see that Stresmann did do a great deal of work in the stabilisation of Germany’s political position in Europe. Which we can presume helped stabilise the position of the republic in Germany, without the Dawes plan the republic would not be in a position to stabilise! In conclusion despite the ambiguity that the statement creates, it is clear to see that Stresmann played a major role in both securing the Republic’s survival and maintaining the stability. However to state that everything which occurred during the survival and stabilising period was because of Stresmann’s work would be doing a grave injustice to all those who contributed to make Stresmann the central figure of affairs and make such a statement possible. | |||||||||||||||||
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