The Weimar Republic was born out of the German defeat in WW1 in 1918; the allies insisted that the Kaiser needed to be replaced by a democratic government as a necessary prerequisite of peace talks. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 burdened Germany with 'War Guilt' and a huge reparations bill of GBP 6.6 billion; this was not a great start for democracy in Germany. The period 1919-1923 was a turbulent, revolutionary, violent and troublesome period for the Weimar Republic. Furthermore, the Wall Street Crash in October 1929 precipitated the Great Depression, which culminated in Hitler being elected as Chancellor in January 1933. However, the period 1924-1929 is often called the 'Golden Years', 'High-Water Mark' or 'Stresemann-era'. There were no major rebellions, a 'culture-boom' with artists such as Otto Dix and the Bauhaus Project and the Dawes Plan of 1924 boosted the German economy with much-needed American loans. However, to what extent can it really be considered a 'Golden-era'?
In this exciting episode, Patrick contends that the achievements of the Weimar Republic 1924-1929 were temporal, precarious and built on shaky foundations. On the contrary, Elliott argues that we should view the achievements of Weimar between 1924-1929 in a more positive light.
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