Gustav Stresemann

Relations between the allies and Germany from 1919 through to 1924 continued to be corrupt. This being due to The treaty of Versailles, Germany's agreement with the Soviet Union in 1922, the Ruhr crisis and many other problems; all of which contributed to the mistrust. Nevertheless, in 1924, in Britain a labour government was elected, an approachable face to which foreign minister Gustav Stresemann saw as his chance to revise both the reparations and Versailles through constructive diplomacy. Stresemann’s aims in foreign policy were revisionist, in which he desired alterations to the terms of Versailles. Stresemann was a nationalist who wanted to see Germany recover from the depths of defeat in 1918. Although a monarchist, he accepted the Weimar republic as the best chance of stability.

Gustav Stresemann was a renowned German politician who served as Chancellor of Weimar and later served as Foreign Minister of the Weimer Republic until 1929 due to his passing. As a strong nationalist, he played a prominent role in bringing out Weimar Germany from the period of hyperinflation to the more promising “Golden Years of Weimer”. He was a Reichstag representative who was elected National Liberal Party’s leader and a few years later he founded the German People’s Party along with the majority of National Liberal Party’s centre and right wings and became its chairman. His vision of making Germany progress economically and recover its position back in the European community after World War I led him to abide by The Treaty of Versailles. His move became successful winning allies from Western Europe. Arguably, his most remarkable achievement was his policy of reconciliation and negotiation with France that also witnessed sponsorship of France in aiding the entry of Germany into the League of Nations which consequently restored Germany's diplomatic status. He won the Nobel Peace Prize along with Aristide Briand for their efforts in improving relations between Germany and France especially after the World War I.

Gustav Stresemann was born on the 10th of May 1878, in Berlin, Germany into a lower middle-class family. His father Ernst Stresemann was an innkeeper, beer distributor, and owned a small bar. He was the only one of five children able to attend high school and university. Stresemann received a good quality education attending and was said to be an exceptional student; he especially excelled in German literature, poetry, and modern history. He was inspired by the likes of Napoléon Bonaparte, a French military and political leader and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe a German writer and also a respected political figure. In 1897, he enrolled at the University of Berlin and studied political economy which exposed him to nationalistic and liberal ideas including the principles and ideologies of socialism. He actively participated in the German student’s movement (Burschenschaften) during his university days. In the April of 1898, he became the editor of the General German university newspaper (Allgemeine Deutsche Universitäts-Zeitung) where his commentaries often criticized other contemporary political parties and exposed his complex views on liberalism and nationalism. However later that year he took a transfer from the University of Berlin to the University of Leipzig in order to pursue a higher degree. Gustav studied history, literature, and economics.

After completing his studies at the age of twenty-two, Stresemann worked for the German Chocolate Makers’ Association from 1901 to 1904 as its administrative assistant; establishing himself as a hardworking coordinator and negotiator. Stresemann’s rapid progress in commerce initiated his first step into politics. In 1902, Stresemann formed the Saxon Manufacturers’ Association and represented the association legally until 1911. In 1903, he joined the National Liberal Party in Saxony and represented the party successfully. In 1906 Stresemann was elected into the Dresden town council (a seat he held until 1912), learning skills on municipal affairs. During that period, he also remained editor of Saxon Industry (Sächsische Industrie) a magazine in Dresden and gained praise for his writings on economics.

In 1907 Stresemann was elected to the Reichstag (parliament) as a member of the National Liberal Party, a centre-right party, representing the Annenberg district; Stresemann became the youngest deputy in the parliament. During this time, he became close to the chairman of the party, Ernst Bassermann who supported Stresemann to progress in his political career. However, in 1912 he had to give up his position as an executive committee member. In 1912, he lost in the elections of Reichstag as well as in the town council; following these events Stresemann took a trip to the US along with few business leaders to study the economic conditions there. This helped Stresemann to expand his knowledge and consequently thereafter he founded the German-American Economic Association. In December 1914, he was again elected to the Reichstag however, this time, he became the de facto leader of the faction of National Liberal members in the Reichstag due to Bassermann’s absence, caused by either poor health or for military service.

That same year (1914) World War I broke out in Europe and Stresemann, like most Germans, viewed the nation as simply carrying out a defensive war. During these times he worked in close association with General Erich Ludendorff, who later became a prominent nationalist leader and a promoter of the stab-in-the-back legend, and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who went on to become the second president of Germany from 1916, and often voiced their opinions in the parliament. He opposed Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg’s policy of détente meaning the easing of hostility or strained relations with Britain, hoping to come to some agreement that would put a halt to the two countries' ruinous naval arms race and give Germany a free hand to deal with France and supported unlimited submarine warfare. In 1917, he became the leader of the National Liberal Party after the death of Bassermann. After the war, Stresemann gradually moulded himself as a more realistic republican.

Stresemann later founded the German People’s Party, a national liberal party in Weimar Germany and a beneficiary to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. In 1918 along with the majority of National Liberal Party’s centre and right wings and became its chairman. After being elected to the Reichstag in 1920 he remained in the opposition for the next three years. Later he joined hands with the left and centre parties although he and his party initially opposed the Weimar Republic.

A coalition government was formed that included the members from the Centre, the Social Democrats, the German Democrats and also his party. Stresemann was appointed as Chancellor and Foreign Minister on August 13, 1923. He remained the Chancellor until November 23rd. In Stresemann’s short tenancy as the Chancellor he put an end to resistance of the Germans against the Belgians and French Occupation of the Ruhr, an industrial area of German bordering their own countries; this region, full of factories and coal mines, contained resources the French and Belgians intended to use to make up for the unpaid reparations that were legally required due to the treaty of Versailles. He also made efforts to stabilize German currency and strongly handled rebellion in Saxony and re-established systems in Bavaria following the failure of Adolf Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch, The Beer Hall Putsch of