‘The Improvement of Germany’s international position in the years could
not have been achieved without the significant contribution of Gustav Stresemann.’
Assess the Validity of this View.
A* standard example AQA history essay.
‘The Improvement of Germany’s international position in the years 1924-1929 could
not have been achieved without the significant contribution of Gustav Stresemann.’
Assess the Validity of this View.
Throughout the period of 1924-1929, Germany’s international position vastly improved from
being an outcast blamed for the starting of the First World War to a country which was
accepted into the diplomatic community through joining the League of Nations in 1926. Much
of this improvement is down to the tireless work of Germany’s Foreign Minister, Gustav
Stresemann who followed the policy of fulfilment in order to try to get the Allies to agree to
concessions on the Treaty of Versailles.
Much of the improvement to Germany’s international position in the years 1924-1929 would
not have been possible without the groundworks set by Stresemann as Chancellor in 1923.
Stresemann inherited Germany at the height of the hyperinflation crisis and was the leader
of the ‘100 Day Cabinet’ which brought the economy back under control by stopping the
payment of passive resistors in the Ruhr, which meant the government had less expenditure
so could try to bring the deficit down. Also he brought in the new currency, the Rentenmark,
which was linked to a mortgage on industrial and agricultural land. Therefore the
hyperinflation crisis was brought under control which enabled Germany to be in a position to
be able to improve their international position the next year.
Stresemann used the Locarno Pact of 1925 to reinforce Germany’s peaceful intentions to
the Allies. As part of the policy of fulfilment, Stresemann accepted all of the terms of the
treaty of which parts seemed to be geared against Germany such as France committing to
protect Poland should Germany invade. The Locarno Pact is a key indicator of international
relations changing as Germany now had allies in Britain and Italy, if they had been invaded,
which shows that many of the countries of Europe value Germany and don’t wish for her to
be threatened. Therefore Strememann’s use of fulfilment was successful in bringing
Germany into the diplomatic circle of Germany and securing support if Germany were ever
threatened or invaded.
It was not only with the Allies that Stresemann improved relations with, it was with the USSR
also. Stresemann built on the Treaty of Rapallo by signing the Treaty of Berlin in 1926, the
main hope was that by strengthening relations with the communist USSR it would shock and
worry the Allies into taking action and valuing Germany’s international position more than
they had done before, perhaps in turn agreeing to some concessions on the Treaty of
Versailles to try to entice them back to the capitalist Allies. None of the Allies wanted
Germany to become communist as it would have made it harder for their own countries to
resist the wave of communism which was beginning to expand further than Russia. The
Treaty of Berlin, itself, had benefits for Germany as they no longer had to pay any
compensation to Russia after previous wars and there was a secret clause which allowed
German pilots to be trained in the USSR which was strictly against the Treaty of Versailles,
however meant that Germany could rebuild her military and have the peace of mind that they
would have at least some protection if they were ever attacked. Therefore the Treaty of
Rapallo was a masterstroke for Stresemann as he improved relations with the USSR whilst
also pressurising the Allies into valuing Germany’s international position more highly.
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