To what extent did the Weimar Republic recover from 1924–29?

On the one hand, the Weimar Republic recovered between 1924 and 1929. 

Firstly, as a result of the Dawes Plan, Germany was able to pay off some of its reparations. This is because they were given loans from the United States of America.

Secondly, Stresemann helped to solve Hyperinflation. He reduced Government spending by letting Government Workers that were no longer needed go and reduced the salaries of those that were kept. He also created a new currency called the Rentenmark, which helped to knock off the noughts of the value of the German Currency.

Finally, there was a cultural change. People were much more liberal and were free to express their views and homosexuality was accepted much more. This helped the republic because people felt safer with their personalities and views.


On the other hand, the Weimar Republic did not recover in the period from 1924 to 1929.

Firstly, the Weimar Government relied too heavily on loans from the US. As the loans could be recalled at any time, the economy was very fragile. If the loans were recalled, the currency would become almost worthless and people would lose savings as the economy collapsed.

Secondly, there was more poverty. This is likely related to the increase in unemployment as people earnt less money. By 1929, the unemployment rate had risen from 1.3 to 1.9 million. This showed the Republic’s weakness in the employment sector.

Thirdly, politics had many problems. Due to the democratic proportional representation, extremist parties, like the Nazis, were able to get seats on the Reichstag. Therefore, the parties in the Reichstag would often disagree with each other and it was difficult to make decisions.

Finally, some German citizens did not support the cultural changes of the Weimar Period as they supported the Kaiser and traditional morals. They would often protest about cultural changes.