TOV ⇒ forced Germany to pay reparations of 6.6 billion pounds ⇒ Germans protested that this was unaffordable ⇒ but their please were ignored When Germany ⇒ failed to make a payment in January 1923 ⇒ French and Belgian troops ⇒ occupied the Ruhr Valley ⇒ Germanys most important and valuable industrial region. ⇒ began to take what was owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods ⇒ this was considered legal under TOV.
Response ⇒ German Govt ⇒ ordered workers to go on strike + to not cooperate with the French. Sudden halt in industrial production ⇒ Caused German currency to collapse. Government ⇒ continued to print banknotes ⇒ but they were practically worthless ⇒ since printing more money caused value of currency to decrease. ⇒ flood of money ⇒ led to hyperinflation ⇒ prices of daily needs rose rapidly. Workers ⇒ needed wheelbarrows ⇒ to carry home their wages + began to be paid daily instead of weekly.
Hyperinflation ⇒ caused great hardship for Germans. ⇒ middle class Germans lost the most German economy was destablished to the extent that personal saving were wiped out and unemployment was widespread. ⇒ prosperous middle class families ⇒ that would have been able to buy a house with their savings in 1921 ⇒ could not even afford a loaf of bread in 1923. ⇒ resulted in govt losing support from middle class Germans ⇒ who felt that Weimar Republic favored workers, industrialists and politicians instead of them.
Situation ⇒ gave the government’s opponents another reason to blame it for ⇒ Many opponents linked the problem to the hated TOV > which was signed by Weimar Politicians ⇒ led to deep resentment towards Weimar Politicians ⇒ who agreed that reparations stipulated in the treaty
Weimar Govt ⇒ did try to solve problems Nov 1925 ⇒ New Chancellor ⇒ Gustav Stresemann ⇒ replaced the German mark with the rentenmark Stresemann ⇒ also negotiated reorganization of the reparations through ⇒ Dawes plan in 1924 and Young Plan in 1929 → these firm and decisive actions allowed Germany to stabilize its finances by reducing its debt
Period 1923-1929 ⇒ Commonly associated with Golden age of Weimar ⇒ where economy recovered and democracy had a chance of taking root ⇒ appeared to many that Germany had averted worse of the crisis ear + entered a new period of stability and success
On the other hand ⇒ there were others who felt period of recovery ⇒ only served to mask the major weaknesses that continued to plague WG