“The Weimar Republic enjoyed a golden age of political stability in the years 1924-28” When the armistice was signed by Germany in 1918, Germany was in a state of complete disarray. A naval mutiny broke out at Kiel and Germany was plunged into revolution. Several groups rushed to take control of Germany. Eventually, the Weimar Republic was created, which promised a democratic republic with equal rights to all its citizens. However, to claim that the republic eased tensions and ensured political stability after 1918 would be far from accurate. Hyperinflation and the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles led to growing resentment among the German population towards the newly founded republic until the crisis year of 1923. However, historians have argued that between 1924 and 1928, Germany experienced a period of Political stability is mainly attributed to the way in which Stresemann resolved the hyperinflation crisis by introducing the Rentenmark, as well as to the American loans and investments of the Dawes Plan which helped the German economy to recover. But critics say there is no "golden age" and that the Weimar Republic is still in crisis. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay Some historians argue that it would be impossible to describe the German period from 1924 to 1928 as a "golden age of political stability ", because there was no stable government during this period. During this period, 9 governments succeeded one another in the space of 4 years, all being coalition governments. Frequent changes of leadership meant that there was no time for a significant impact to occur, as the next government would abandon what the previous government had planned. Additionally, some governments during this period were minority governments, which led to cases where governments were unable to pass legislation due to other parties banding together to prevent it from adopt it. The lack of a strong government during this period exposed the weakness of German democracy and led to the German public feeling disenfranchised vis-à-vis the establishment. However, if we look at the period before 1924 and compare it to the years 1924-28, it is clear that after 1924 there was a period of increasing stability. Until 1923, inflation was increasing at an exponential rate as the government printed more and more money in order to pay the enormous debts it held following the Treaty of Versailles. Continued printing of money led to the Deutschmark becoming so worthless that many Germans opted for a primitive barter economy. Hyperinflation was only aggravated by the Franco-Belgian invasion of the Ruhr. German workers in the Ruhr went on strike, meaning reparations were not being paid; this led to a joint force of France and Belgium occupying the Ruhr. The German government then opted for a policy of passive resistance; they paid German workers to stay on strike, but did not actively confront the occupying forces. The effect of passive resistance was that it led to even more money being paid out than the annual reparations payments cost them, which in turn exacerbated the bouts of hyperinflation. When Stresemann became chancellor in 1923, he created a new currency, the Rentenmark, which helped stabilize the economy and effectively end the hyperinflation crisis. Therefore, the.