Chapter 2

TOV - German people were NOT told if war had lasted, Germany would have eventually been invaded by its enemies, rather they thought the army ended the war undefeated and celebrated the return of the troops - They thought they would have a fairly negotiated treaty, but were shocked and angry when they found out the terms, and Ebert (president) was reluctant to sign but had no choice to sign on 28 June 1919 - Aftereffects: undermined the Weimar republic, many germans thought Ebert and the Weimar politicians were forever to blame for the Treaty Economical challenges After the TOV, Germany’s economy had a downfall... • The TOV forced Germany to pay reparations of 6.6 billion pounds → Even though the Germans protested that this was unaffordable, their pleas were ignored → Germany failed to make a payment in January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr Valley , Germany’s most important and valuable industrial region + took what was owed to them in the form of raw materials and goods (this was considered legal under the terms of the TOV) → In response, the German government ordered the workers to go on a strike and not to cooperate with the French → sudden halt in industrial production caused the German currency to collapse → The government continued to print more money → caused the value of currency to decrease → led to hyperinflation + with prices of daily needs rising rapidly • Hyperinflation caused great hardship for the Germans → The middle-class Germans lost the most → personal savings were wiped out + unemployment was was widespread → Resulted in the Weimar government losing support from the middle-class Germans , who felt that Weimar Republic favoured workers, industrialists and politicians instead of them The Great Depression (1929) US economy crashed, caused a severe economic depression → US bankers and businessmen asked German banks to repay the loans and removed their investments in Germany → Resulted in an economic collapse in Germany ● The impact of unemployment ○ By 1932,unemployment was at 6 million → Most sections of German society were affected (farmers etc) + Many small business and shops went bankrupt → income of the average German fell by 40% between 1929 and 1932 → led to hunger, and often illness ○ Many Germans were evicted from their homes because they could no longer