How was Germany stabilized after 1923?

Answer 1

There were several factors that helped settle down civil strife and calm the economy. Here's a quick summary of what are probably the three primary factors:

1. Gustav Stresemann. He was Chancellor briefly in 1923 and stayed in the government until his sudden death six years later; he became the public face of Germany's recovery in the 1920's. He was the first politician to really try to intelligently address the various problems facing Germany. He earned the Noble Peace Prize for negotiating with Britain, France and other countries to normalize relations and get Germany admitted into the League of Nations.
2. The Rentenmark- another of Stresemann's policies. With hyperinflation making the Reichsmark worthless, the government basically stopped using it and switched to the new Rentenmark, backing it by basically putting mortgages on the whole country rather than using the gold standard (Germany had little gold in reserve because of the economic problems). This was able to stabilize the money, and end hyperinflation.
3. The Dawes Plan. The USA helped Germany by negotiating the official end of the Ruhr occupation, and offering bank loans and payment plans to make the reparations payments less damaging to German economic growth. However, it eventually became a problem because it linked Germany's economy rather strongly to the American economy- and in 1929, Wall Street crashed, resulting in the Great Depression. The link between Germany and the USA meant that the Depression hit Germany particularly hard as well, which helped the rise of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party.