1924-1929: The Stability Of The Weimar Republic

Superior Essays
To what extent was the stability of the Weimar Republic between 1924 and 1929 superficial?

The Weimar Republic was seen to be a period of advancement and prosperity between 1924 and 1929, however, despite relative political stability, a lack of political consensus was prevalent. Whilst Stresemann was successful in reviving the economy of the Weimar Republic, inherent problems existed with Germany’s dependency on international loans. There was also superficiality in social policies as they concurrently improved the livelihood of the working-class yet alienated the elite. Ultimately, these issues meant the illusive stability of the Weimar Republic was unable to withstand a crisis.

The Weimar Republic experienced relative political stability from 1924-29, yet democracy had not become entrenched in society or parliament. Despite six changes of government between 1924 – 1929, partial political harmony existed with a stable coalition government formed by the Centre Party (Z) and moderate right-wing parties the German Democratic Party (DDP) and the German People’s Party (DVP). Approval of the Republic by German citizens was evidenced through election results in both 1924 and 1928 with a decline in seats held by extremist right-wing parties from 117 to 85,
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Politically, the hallmark of the Weimar Republic was Stresemann’s foreign policies yet the weak coalition governments faced anti-republic and anti-democratic sentiments of extremist parties. Germany’s economy lacked structural integrity through its extensive loans from America as economic recovery was simply inadequate in protecting the nation from recession and crisis. Finally, competing interests of all cross-sections of society generated social

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