Changes to Living Standards in the Weimar Republic (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
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Zoe WadeExpertise
History
Timeline - Changes to Living Standards in Weimar Germany
Attempts to Improve the Standard of Living, 1924-29- Summary
The establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1918 marked the beginning of the German welfare state. A welfare state is the concept that the government supports and improves the well-being of its citizens. By 1922, the government had improved people’s standard of living in Germany. One of the Weimar government's first acts was to establish the eight-hour working day. In 1920, the government introduced war-related pensions that gave money to the widows and orphans from the First World War. The hyperinflation crisis of 1923 destroyed the Weimar government’s vision of the welfare state. Many workers became unemployed, resulting in a significant fall in living standards. Food shortages were common as farmers refused to sell their products for money that had no value. People resorted to bartering or stealing food to survive. Homelessness and starvation were not uncommon. From 1924, once the economy had recovered, the government was determined to improve living standards. They passed a series of reforms ranging from building houses to improving education. Whilst the government succeeded in some areas, there was a divide between the industrial and agricultural working classes. Workers in towns and cities benefitted the most from the reforms. High debt, low prices and increasing taxes damaged the standard of living in farming communities. By 1929, the income of agricultural workers was 44% below the national average. They became susceptible to the appeal of extremist parties who promised to improve their standard of living. |
Reducing Unemployment in the Weimar Republic
The hyperinflation crisis of 1923 increased unemployment
In 1924, 4% of the working population was unemployed
By 1926, this had increased to over 20%
Germany’s economic recovery relied upon creating jobs
Stresemann had introduced a new currency (the Reichsmark) that foreign countries were happy to trade in
Germany needed to increase its industrial production to have resources to trade with other countries
The government passed the Unemployment Insurance Act in 1927
This money funded insurance that covered unemployment and sickness
16.4 million workers had 3% of their wages diverted to the government
If an insured German did not have a job or was unable to work due to poor health, the scheme paid them 60 Reichsmarks per week
The economic recovery and government legislation meant that, by 1928, the number of people unemployed had fallen to roughly 2%
Improvement to Work & Wages in the Weimar Republic
It was vital for the Weimar government to keep the working classes happy
Communism was attractive to the workers
If too many workers supported communism, the KPD would win more seats in the Reichstag
Communism threatened the success of German businesses and industry
Communism was against owning private property or businesses. Any businesses that did operate would not be allowed to make profit
Economic recovery from the events of 1923 depended on increasing industrial output
The government introduced a series of reforms to improve working conditions:
They lowered the hours in a working week from 50 in 1925 to 46 in 1927
Workers’ ‘real’ wages rose 25% from 1925 to 1928. This measurement considers the cost of living and inflation to calculate the actual value of a worker's wages
Worked Example
Study Interpretations 1 and 2. They give different views about living standards between 1923 and 1929
What is the main difference between these views?
Explain your answer, using details from both interpretations.
4 marks
Interpretation 1: An extract from the History Teachers’ Association Modern History Guide, published in 2007 Working people actually improved their situation with better real wages, unemployment insurance and lower working hours. What this did, however, was to alienate other groups such as big business, who resented their loss of power and profit, and the lower middle class, who saw their own position threatened by a system which seemed to favour the working class |
Interpretation 2: Germany from War to Dictatorship by Richard Bessel. It was published in 1997 The Weimar Republic was an over-strained Welfare State and the ‘achievements’ of the years of ‘relative stability’ were damaging liabilities. The 1927 Unemployment Insurance Act had failed within a year, and this reflects the fundamental problem which plagued the Weimar Republic; the changed relationship of the people to the state which emerged from the First World War |
Answers:
Interpretations 1 and 2 differ about how successful the Weimar government’s reforms were in improving living standards. Interpretation 1 states that working conditions improved between 1924 and 1929 (1). A quote that supports this is “Working people actually improved their situation with better real wages, unemployment insurance and lower working hours” (1).
Interpretation 2 believes that the Weimar reforms did not improve living standards (1). A quote to support this is “The 1927 Unemployment Insurance Act had failed within a year” (1).
Housing in the Weimar Republic
There was a housing crisis in Germany in the 1920s
By 1923, Germany had a shortage of 1 million homes
The Länder aimed to rectify this
The Länder utilised foreign loans to fund building projects
They encouraged the workers to build their own houses using recycled materials
The Weimar government acted to increase the amount of suitable housing
The government introduced a rent tax of 15% to create building associations
Private companies created 37,000 new homes from 1925 to 1929. In the same period, building associations constructed 64,000 homes
The Weimar government employed talented architects to create these new homes
By 1928, the housing shortage had reduced
There still were not enough houses for Germany’s population
Introduction of Pensions in the Weimar Republic
The First World War had a devastating impact on the German people
Two million German soldiers died between 1914 and 1918, and four million more were wounded
This created a large number of war widows
By 1920, there were an estimated 400,000 war widows in Germany
The widows struggled to provide for themselves and their families
In 1920, the government decided to help war widows recover from the devastating impacts of the war
They passed the Reich Pension Law
Over 1.3 million people (widows and ex-soldiers) received a war-related pension
Weimar Germany spent roughly 40% of its GDP on this scheme
During the hyperinflation crisis in 1923, those claiming war-related pensions suffered greatly
Their pension became worthless when the mark lost its value
The government compensation scheme gave pensioners money to the value of 10% of their debt. This was not adequate for financial recovery
Progress in Education in the Weimar Republic
Education was slow to change in Weimar Germany
Most teachers were very conservative in their political beliefs
The church was responsible for running many schools
The Weimar Constitution outlined the reforms the government wanted to make in schools
They believed that children should attend state-funded primary schools that were free of religious influence for four years
The government wanted to encourage more lower-class students to access higher education
Educational reforms achieved some success
By 1928, the number of students in higher education had increased to 110,000. Before 1914, there were only 70,000 students
There was a lot of opposition to these reforms
The Catholic and Protestant churches did not like to have their influence taken away from schools
Upper-class parents did not want their children to be educated with lower-class children, especially if they were of different faiths
Exam Tip
The extent to which German living standards changed is debated among historians. One side of the argument highlights how progressive the Weimar government’s policies were towards improving the lives of the working classes. However, the impact of hyperinflation affected the amount of progress the Weimar government could make on their welfare state. The other side of the argument states that the Weimar government did not improve everyone’s standard of living. Agricultural workers had a lower standard of living than industrial workers. Consider these opposing views if you are asked about whether Weimar Germany experienced a ‘Golden Age' or not.
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