Revisionism and

the Search for

StabilityHI136, History of Germany

Lecture 8

Gustav Stresemann

(1878-1929) From a lower-class Berlin

family.

Studied economics and

was a successful

businessman before

entering politics in 1907.

The youngest Deputy in

the Reichstag when first

elected.

1917: Became

parliamentary leader of

the National Liberal

Party.

1918: Founder member

of the DVP.

1923: Served as

Chancellor at the height

of the Inflation Crisis.

1923-29: Served as

Reich Foreign Minister in

successive coalitions.

1926: Received the

Nobel Peace Prize.

‘Weimar’s greatest

statesman’?

Source: Mark Mazower, The Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century (1998)

The

Treat

y of

Ve

rsai

lles

The German Army to be reduced to 100,000 men

by March 1920 and the German General Staff

abolished (Article 160). Germany forced to accept full responsibility for the

war (Article 231). Germany to compensate the Allies for all damage

and financial losses incurred during the war by

paying an indeterminate sum in reparations. A

Commission is established to decide on the final

amount by May 1921 (Article 232).

France given control of the coalmines in the Saar

basin (Article 45). Germany to cede West Prussia and Posen to the

new Polish republic (Article 87).

Germany also loses Alsace and Lorraine to France,

Eupen and Melmedy to Belgium, Northern

Schleswig to Denmark, Upper Silesia to Poland and

Memel to Lithuania. Germany forced to cede her colonies to the Allies

(Article 119). To ensure that Germany abides by the terms of the

Treaty, the territory west of the Rhine and the

bridgeheads at Cologne, Mainz and Koblenz are to

be occupied by Allied troops for up to 15 years

(Article 428)

The Treaty of

Versailles

Source: G. Layton, From Bismarck to

Hitler 1890-1933 (1993)

The

War

Gui

lt Cl

ause

(Arti

cle 2

31)

“The Allied and Associated

Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany

and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to

which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the

aggression of Germany and

her allies.”

The Occupation

of the Rhineland The Rhineland to be

occupied for 15 years as a

guarantee of reparations

payments and French

security.

The area divided into 4

zones, each occupied by

a different allied army.

From June 1919 the

occupation was presided

over by a civilian body, the

Inter-Allied Rhineland

High Commission

(IARHC).

The relationship between

occupiers and occupied

varied in the different

zones, but generally the

Germans resented the

presence of foreign troops

on their soil.

Soucre: R. Overy, The Penguin

Historical Atlas of the Third

Reich (1996)

Repa

ratio

ns

The Allies needed reparations to cover the

costs of the war. Disagreement over how much Germany

should pay and what percentage should be

given to each of the Allies.

It was agreed that a Reparations

Commission should be established to

decide on a final figure by May 1921 – in

the meantime Germany was required to

pay a lump sum of 20 billion gold marks

and raise a further 60 billion through the

sale of bonds. Jan. 1921: the Allies present Germany with

a bill for 226,000 billion marks to be paid

over 42 years. The Germans suggest the

alternative figure of 30 billion marks.

April 1921: The Reparations Commission

sets the total amount to be paid at

152,000 billion marks and Germany is

given a month to agree to this figure.

Revis

ioni

sm

Opposition to the Treaty of Versailles was

about the only issue on which most

Germans could agree during the Weimar

period. But division over how to overturn the

Treaty: ‘Hardliners’ – any concession to the Allies

should be avoided: reparations should not

be paid, disarmament flouted and the

territorial clauses overturned.

‘Moderates’ – recognised that Germany’s

domestic instability and diplomatic isolation

hampered freedom of movement in foreign

policy. The only way to achieve revision of

the treaty was through negotiation.

Erfüllungspolitik (‘Fulfillment Policy’): an

attempt to fulfill as many of the clauses of

the Treaty as possible, in the hope that this

display of goodwill would encourage the

Allies to grant concessions.

The Rapallo

Treaty (1922) Treaty signed between

Germany and the Soviet

Union in April 1922.

Re-established full

diplomatic relations

between Germany and

Russia – Germany the first

nation in the world to

formally recognize the

USSR.

Both countries renounced

claims to war debts and

reparations, and agreed to

co-operate over economic

matters.

Secret clauses of the

Treaty allowed Germany to

circumvent the military

clauses of the Treaty of

Versailles by training

troops and developing

forbidden weapons (tanks,

an airforce etc.) on

Russian soil.

Foreign Minister Walther

Rathenau (1867-1922)

The Ruhr Crisis,

1923-24 On 11 January 1923 French and

Belgian troops entered the Ruhr.

Germany responded by pursuing

a policy of ‘passive resistance’,

but this placed strain on the

already weak German economy

and led to hyperinflation.

Stresemann was appointed

Chancellor on 13 August 1923, a

state of emergency was

proclaimed and passive

resistance called off.

But the occupation had

weakened the French economy

as well and in January 1924 they

were forced to agree to the

establishment of a commission

to investigate the problem of

reparations.

The Dawes Plan (1924) did not

alter the total sum to be repaid,

but drew up a more realistic

repayment plan and provided a

large American loan to help

finance German economic

recovery.

The Locarno

Treaties (1925)

After signing the Locarno Treaties, London, 16 Nov.

1925. French Premier Aristide Briand is in the centre,

Gustav Streseman stands behind him. British Foreign

Secretary Austin Chamberliain is on the left.

“Locarno…is the achievement of lasting peace on

the Rhine, guaranteed by the formal renunciation

of force by the two great neighbouring nations

and also by the commitment of other states to

come to the aid of the victim of an act of

aggression in violation of this treaty…It can and

it ought to be the basis for a general cooperative

effort among these nations to spread peace

wherever their material power and moral

influence reach.” Gustav Stresemann, 1926

Rehabilitation 1926:

Germany

allowed to join the

League of Nations.

1926: Treaty of Berlin

with USSR reaffirms

the agreements made

at Rapallo in 1922.

1928: Germany signs

the Kellog-Briand

Pact, thereby

renouncing the use of

force and committing

herself to

disarmament.

1929: The Young Plan

– a revised scheme

for repaying

Reparations. The

allies agree to

evacuate the

Rhineland early.

Fore

ign

Polic

y Af

ter

Stre

sem

ann

1930: Withdrawal of Allied troops

from the Rhineland. Change of gear after

Stresemann: more assertive

foreign policy under Curtius and

Brüning. 1931: Proposed customs union

with Austria. June 1932: One year moratorium

on reparations. July 1932: Withdrawal from

International Disarmament

Commission. 1932: Lusanne Agreement –

ends reparations.

Stresemann – a

good European?Yes

Conciliatory

cooperative policy

towards France

and Britain.

Germany joins

League of Nations.

International

recognition Nobel

Peace Prize

(together with

Aristide Briand).

No

Economic pressure

on Poland.

Germany as

advocate of rights of

German minorities in

Eastern Europe.

Letter to Crown

Prince: readjustment

of Eastern borders

and liberation of

Germany from

foreign domination.

Illegal military

cooperation with

Soviet Russia.

Was

Stresemann

successful?Foreign

Policy Reparation

payments now clear.

American

investment.

Beginning of

reconciliation with

France and

integration into

European policies.

Early withdrawal of

French troops from

Ruhr and later from

Rhineland.

No territorial

revisions in the East.

Effects on

domestic policy

German public

opinion violently

against amount

and length of

payments.

German financial

system dependent

on American

money.

Public opinion:

Germany gained

too little by

renouncing claim

to Alsace-Lorraine.

Disappointment.

Without doubt constructive and successful

foreign policy in longer term perspective, in

short-term perspective was not supported by

German public opinion – was not able to give

additional legitimacy to Weimar democracy.

Book

Rev

iew

Due: Monday in Lecture, Week 1, Term 2 You may choose any book that is at

least 200 pages and has been

published since the year 2000.

The purpose of a book review is to

provide a summary of the work,

evaluate its strengths and weaknesses,

and, most importantly, present your

overall assessment of the work.

Towards this assessment, you should

discuss one or more of the following:

the book’s audience, its usefulness (for

scholars, students, the general public),

and its contribution to the field. 

Sam

ple

Book

Re

view

Available on Jstor:

Hannah Schissler, “Review: Rebuilding West German Society: A Gendered View”,

Reviewed work: Protecting Motherhood: Women and the Family in the

Politics of Postwar West Germany by Robert G. Moeller

Central European History, Vol. 26, No. 3 (1993), pp. 326-334

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4546350Linda Gordon, “Review: Nazi Feminists?”, Reviewed work: Mothers in the

Fatherland: Women, the Family and Nazi Politics by Claudia Koonz

Feminist Review, No. 27 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 97-105

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1394813?

&Search=yes&term=feminists&term=gordon&term=linda&term=nazi&list

=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3Dlinda

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%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo

%3D&item=2&ttl=321&returnArticleService=showFullText

Robert Gellately, “Review: [untitled]”, Reviewed work: Hitler's Willing

Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust by Daniel Jonah

GoldhagenThe Journal of Modern History, Vol. 69, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 187-191

http://www.jstor.org/stable/2953473?&Search=yes&term=gellately&term=hitler

%27s&term=executioners&term=willing&term=robert&list=hide&searchUr

i=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3Drobert%2Bgellately

%2Bhitler%2527s%2Bwilling%2Bexecutioners%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND

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%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo

%3D&item=1&ttl=28&returnArticleService=showFullText