Gustav
Stresemann, the son of a innkeeper, was born in Berlin on 10th May,
1878. Stresemann attended universities in Berlin and Leipzig where
he studied history, literature and economics.
After completing
his studies he worked for the German Chocolate Makers's Association.
In 1902 he founded the Saxon Manufacturers' Association and the following
year joined the National Liberal Party. A right-wing party, Stresemann
emerged as one of the leaders of the more moderate wing who favoured
an improvement in social welfare provision.
In 1908
Stresemann was elected to the Reichstag.
He soon came into conflict with his more conservative colleagues and
he was ousted from the party's executive committee in 1912. Later
that year he lost his seat in Parliament.
Stresemann
returned to business life and was the founder of the German-American
Economic Association. A strong advocate of German imperialism, he
aliened himself with the political views of Alfred
von Tirpitz and Bernhard von Bulow.
He returned
to the Reichstag in 1914. Exempted
from military service during the First World War
because of poor health, Stresemann was a passionate supporter of the
war effort and advocated that Germany should take possession of land
in Russia, Poland,
France and Belgium.
During
the war Stresemann became increasing right-wing in his views and his
opponents claimed he was the parliamentary spokesman for military
figures such as Paul von
Hindenburg and Erich
Ludendorff. He became increasingly critical of Bethmann
Hollweg and advocated unrestricted
submarine warfare against the Royal
Navy.
In 1918
Stresemann formed the German People's Party. After Germany's defeat
Stresemann was sympathetic to the Freikorps
and welcomed the defeat of the socialists and communists in the German
Revolution. However, he became increasingly concerned by the use
of violence of the right-wing groups and after the murders of Matthias
Erzberger and Walther Rathenau,
Stresemann decided to argue in favour of the Weimar
Republic.
With the
support of the Social Democratic Party Stresemann
became chancellor of Germany in 1923. He managed to bring an end to
the passive resistance in the Ruhr and resumed
payment of reparations. He also tackled
the problem of inflation by establishing
the Rentenbank.
Stresemann
was severely criticized by members of the Social
Democratic Party and Communist Party
over his unwillingness to deal firmly with Adolf
Hitler and other Nazi Party leaders
after the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch.
Later that month the socialists withdrew from Stresemann's government
and he was forced to resign as chancellor.
In the
new government led by Wilhelm Marx, Stresemann
was appointed as foreign minister. He accepted the Dawes
Plan (1924) as it resulted in the French
Army withdrawing from the Ruhr.
Under Hans Luther Stresemann's skilled
statesmanship led to the Locarno Treaty
(1925) and Germany joining the League of Nations
(1926). Later that year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Gustav
Stresemann negotiated the Young Plan but
soon after that he suffered two strokes and on 3rd October, 1929 he
died of a heart attack.
History
of the European Union: Integration Process and European Citizenship
