Germany experienced a period of political calm, economic development and social progress in the mid 1920’s. How far do you agree with this statement?
Within the mid 1920’s Germany had experienced some political calm, economic development and social progress. This included the Dawes plan and the Young Plan which gave Germany loans from the USA and that the French and Belgians would withdraw from the Ruhr meaning that they gain more responsibility. Also, the increased level of production within Germany meant that the industry would grow, and the social welfare constitution proved that the public would have backing from the government with pensions and benefits. However, there were factors which disagreed with the statement as there was a grand coalition within this period that could not co-operate together. Also, Germany being dependent on foreign loans meant that their economic development was not increasing. As well as this, there were still differences within the public in Germany decreasing the social progress in the mid 1920’s. Although, to a certain extent the statement is true as Germany did show that they experienced a period of political calm, economic development and social progress in the mid 1920’s.
It was said that Germany during the mid 1920’s had experienced a period of political calm. The Dawes Plan which was introduced meant that there was a loan agreement between Germany and the USA. This agreement was to kick start the German industry again to stabilise political problems in Germany. As well as this, the Young Plan in 1920 was introduced which was even seen as a better stabiliser for Germany for their political problems. The French and Belgians withdrew from the Ruhr in April 1924 which meant that there was a huge difference in the progress of the political calm in the period of mid 1920’s as more responsibility was given to the Germans.
However, this statement above could also be disagreed with. One of these reasons is that the main democratic parties including the SPD, Centre party, DDP and the DVP could not work together with their ‘grand coalition’ under Chancellor Muller. As they could not compromise their instability showed signs of political polarisation which shows that the statement above is far from the truth. To add to this, within the mid 1920’s there was 4 different chancellors and 3 different Governments over the 7 years which meant that the government was unstable emphasising the disagreement of the statement that Germany experienced political calm during the mid 1920’s.
Even though there were signs of political calm within the mid 1920’s, Germany also experienced a period of economic development. One of the factors that agree with the statement is that there was increased production in 1928. The results had shows that in 1928, heavy industry had gone back to 1913 levels. This is because there were more efficient production levels in Germany meaning that there was a period of Germany gaining credibility towards their results of their industry, increasing their economic development. As well as this, there was stabilisation under Gustav Stresemann. There was a new currency which was introduced in the mid 1920’s which meant there would be budget cuts, US loans would come into place. This new currency was to tackle hyper-inflation which would then restore the people in Germany’s confidence. This proved that within the mid 1920’s in Germany there was a sign of economic development.
On the other hand, there were also signs to disagree with the statement that Germany showed economic development. This was because Germany’s economic recovery proved that they had no stable foundations. This was because they were dependent on foreign loans meaning that they would always