The 'Golden Age' and Nazi Origins

The Stresemann Years 1924 -1929

• Gustav Stresemann was the German Chancellor from 1923-24 and Foreign Secretary after that. He helped Germany to get back on her feet following World War One leading to a period known as the 'Golden Age' ​​​:
• Economic measures: the Rentenmark, the Dawes Plan 1924, the Young Plan 1929
• International relations: the Locarno Treaties 1925 (Germany and France agreed their border), Germany join the League of Nations 1926, sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 (over 60 nations agreeing not to go to war)
• With more money and foreign goods in Germany, the standard of living rose amongst the population. People began to enjoy leisurely activities and material goods. On the surface, Germany was moving forward successfully. However, underneath Germany was dependent on foreign loans and not growing enough to achieve economic stability.
• 
• Bildunterschrift: Gustav Stresemann (1878-1929)

Economic Security

• Dawes Plan 1924:
• April 1924, American banker, Charles G. Dawes, unveiled a plan to aid German economic recovery
• A regular schedule for German reparation payments from the Treaty of Versailles was established
• The total reparation payment was not reduced but Germany received more time to pay
• The Weimar government obtained 800,000,000 million mark loan from the US
• Young Plan 1929:
• Stresemann protested over the Allied stubbornness with reparations
• A committee was set up under Owen D. Young to investigate the problem
• The Young Plan was produced in 1929, declaring the reduction of reparations payments by 67% and that the payment period would end in 1988
• Hitler was against this plan, saying it would cause economic enslavement for future generations

Weimar - Industry and Society 1920-1929

• 1920s - German industrial output regained pre-war level output e.g. 1927 - coal reached 79% pre-war level
• Large industries such as United Steel Works and IG Farben dominated business
• Wages rose above pre-war levels; social and health schemes were introduced
• Although things looked brighter, the government was over-reliant on American loans and unemployment was at 1.8 million in 1929
• Agriculture failed to recover
• Hitler and the Nazis would win major amounts of support from these areas
• 
• Bildunterschrift: Stresemann, Chamberlain (UK PM) and Briand (French PM)

Origins of the Nazi Party

• 
• 
• Bildunterschrift: Nazi Party Symbol
• Began as the German Worker's Party led by Anton Drexler
• In 1919, Hitler joined after finishing in the army
• Drexler realised his talent and appointed him head of propaganda and the party's political ideas
• 1920 - the party announces its Twenty-Five Point Programme
• 1921 - Hitler becomes the new leader of the party
• Hitler renames the party the National Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP) - Nazi Party for short
• Set up a new private army called the Sturmabteiling (SA)
• The SA, also known as the Brownshirts, were to protect Hitler and disrupt other party meetings
• The party would meet in beer houses
• Hitler attracted attention with powerful speeches and rants about the Treaty of Versailles

Munich Putsch 1923

• 
• In 1923, the Nazi Party were a small minority party, yet Hitler thought highly of them. On November 8, he carried out his plan to topple the Weimar government by sending the SA to take over official buildings in Munich and announcing his planned revolution in a beer hall. Government forces hit back and rebellion broke out the next day. Results:
• Hitler and other leading Nazis were arrested for treason
• Hitler gained massive publicity from his trial
• Hitler impressed the judge and received five years in prison, when legally treason carried a life sentence
• In the end, Hitler only served nine months
• During his time in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (book outlining his beliefs)

Nazi Party 1925 -1928

• Hitler needed to reorganise the Nazi party after leaving prison. He realised that the party would have to win power via democratic means. Therefore, he created a network of local party branches and Hitler Youth (1926). While enlarging the SA, he also formed a new group in 1925 called the Schutzstaffel (SS). This organisation was similar to the SA, but its members were extremely loyal to Hitler personally.
• Hitler's efforts did not lead the Nazis to popular support in Germany, probably because at this time industry flourished from 1925-1929 and life was good for workers. In 1928, The Nazis gained 12 Reichstag seats and one quarter of the votes that communists won. The Nazi's failed to win over the majority of workers.
• The Nazis gained support from groups who did not benefit from the success of German growth. These included peasant farmers and small business owners
• 
• Bildunterschrift: Nazi Party propaganda poster - the text on the bottom says 'The people's needs can be taken care of by your local community group.'

Party Development

• The Nazis highlighted the role of peasants in their plans for Germany
• They praised the peasants of Germany as racially pure
• Nazis despised the culture of the Weimar Republic
• In order to gain respect, the Nazis began to collaborate closely with the right-wing Nationalist Party (DNVP)
• Membership for the party rose to over 100,000 by 1928
• Hitler appointed Josef Goebbels in charge of Nazi propaganda; Goebbels was highly efficient in spreading the Nazi message
• However, even with these advancements, the Nazis were still a minority party who had the support of less than 3% of the population
• The success of Stresemann in the economic and foreign policy meant that people did not look toward extreme politics for answers