Was the Period 1924 - 29 a Golden Age for the Weimar Republic?

The period of 1924-1929 is seen as the high point of the Republic - a so called Golden Period. This is especially true when you compare this period to the crisis and chaos of rebellions, political assassinations, hyperinflation, high unemployment and the frequent violence that came before (1919-23) and the political and economic uncertainty that came after (1929-33). Its apparent success coincided with the influence and (practical) guidance of Gustav Stressemann. He was chancellor for only 100 days and then foreign minister until his death in 1929.
Some historians have come to question how healthy (successful and stable) the Weimar Republic really was in this so called 'Golden Period'. They have suggested that such rapid disintegration in 1929 does not bear the hallmark of a new Republic with firm foundations. What do you think?

Political Developments

  • ​There were no further attempts to overthrow the government by Putsch or revolution after 1923 & no more assassinations which suggested more acceptance of the Republic.
  • In the 1924 and 1928 elections the extreme left and right lost ground. The Nazis had only 12 seats in 1928. It was said the Nazis were ‘on the lunatic fringe of German politics’. E.g only a few were taking their anti-democratic views seriously.
  • The new republic had able and trusted politicians in Ebert and Stresemann. (Stresemann became Foreign Minister)
  • The constitution seemed to provide the civil liberties and freedoms that everyone craved.
  • Foreign policy was successful leading to Germany joining the league in 1926 and a permanent member. e.g Locarno Pact of 1925 a big breakthrough in European relations.
  • 1925 Germany admitted to the League of Nations as a Permanent member of the Council.
  • ​Street violence and animosity between left and right still continued.
  • Between 1924 and 1928 there were 6 governments and the longest survived 21 months. And 5 out of 6 governments were minority [they don’t have parliamentary majority] governments.
  • The Army, Civil Service and Courts had right wing sympathies. [Proven by Hitler’s light sentence in ‘23]
  • President Hindenburg' was elected President in 1925. He was a traditionalist and it seemed to suggest people didn’t yet trust democratic ideas. He provided a focus for right-wing ambitions and he did not approve of the republic or democracy. 

Economic

  • Dawes Plan (1924) did much to restore confidence in the economy and investment poured in from the USA.
  • Loans of 800 million marks
  • A new more stable currency was introduced. (Rentenmark to the Reichsmark)
  • New housing projects, roads, public buildings and schools were built.
  • A system of national welfare was established in 1927 - an income and safeguard for non-working mothers and the unemployed.
  • Factories were re-equipped with new machinery - economic confidence was high.
  • In 1923, German industrial output exceeded 1913 levels and doubled by 1929.
  • Wages rose in real terms every year from 1924-29. People were able to buy more and enjoy a higher standard of living.
  • Working hours were shortened and social insurance was improved.
  • Women had more equality and job opportunity (Emancipation). Some were elected to the Reichstag and many took professional jobs.
  • Germany was dangerously dependent on the short term loans –provided by the Dawes Plan. The recovery was therefore dependent upon the good will of the USA. Some called it an economic armistice!
  • German farmers - c.33% of the nation - did not experience the boom.
  • Farm prices actually fell and earnings in 1929 were half the national average.
  • Unemployment was still over 1.3m (1928)
  • Germany's balance of trade (government was constantly in the red. They bought more could they could sell aboard

Society & Cultural

  • ​The 1920s has been described as the most creative period of German history.
  • Art, drama, film, literature and music flourished and encouraged and inspired artists and the creative inside and outside Germany. (e.g Bahaus Movement)
  • Lively debate, a free press and new found freedoms built an atmosphere and an impression of culture and change.
  • Nightclubs, dances, avant-garde theatres, expressionist cinema and cubist art filled streets and homes.
  • Berlin rivalled Paris as the centre for art and culture. 
  • The left and the right regarded much of the experimentation and artistic development as useless to the needs of the working classes.
  • The right interpreted the changes as decadent, un-German and a threat to traditional values.
  • Many Germans thought Berlin (and Berliners) was sleazy, corrupt and obsessed with themselves, fashion and change.
  • Not all Germans favoured female emancipation - ironically most women wanted to be in traditional roles.