Stresemann, Gustav (g

s`täf shtrā`zəmän), 1878–1929, German statesman. A founder (1902) and director (until 1918) of the Association of Saxon Industrialists, Stresemann entered the Reichstag in 1907 as a deputy of the National Liberal party and represented the interests of big business. During World War I, he supported the monarchy and an annexationist policy, but after the proclamation of a German republic in 1918 he founded the conservative German People's party and turned to a conciliatory policy in harmony with the weak position of his country. As chancellor (1923) and foreign minister of the Weimar Republic from 1923 until his death, he made it his task to reconcile former enemy nations to Germany, to remove the harsh clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, and to regain for Germany a respected place in the world. His policy, although it alienated Germany's nationalist and monarchist elements, was remarkably successful.

Although Stresemann knew of efforts by Hans von Seeckt Seeckt, Hans von (häns fən zākt), 1866–1936, German general.
..... Click the link for more information. to evade the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, he won the confidence of the Allies. He ended (1923) the passive resistance in the Ruhr Ruhr (rr), region, c.
..... Click the link for more information. district against French and Belgian occupation and obtained the evacuation of the Ruhr in 1924; he accepted the Dawes Plan Dawes Plan, presented in 1924 by the committee headed (1923–24) by Charles G. Dawes to the Reparations Commission of the Allied nations. It was accepted the same year by Germany and the Allies.
..... Click the link for more information. (1924) and the Young Plan Young Plan, program for settlement of German reparations debts after World War I. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by Owen D. Young. After the Dawes Plan was put into operation (1924), it became apparent that Germany could not meet the huge
..... Click the link for more information. (1929) for reparations; he raised the hope for peace by his part in the Locarno Pact Locarno Pact, 1925, concluded at a conference held at Locarno, Switzerland, by representatives of Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
..... Click the link for more information. (1925); he renewed (1926) the Rapallo treaty with the USSR; and he had Germany admitted (1926) into the League of Nations with the rank of a great power. His harmonious relation with France's Aristide Briand Briand, Aristide (ärēstēd` brēäN`), 1862–1932, French statesman.
..... Click the link for more information. became one of personal friendship. In 1928, Stresemann signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact Kellogg-Briand Pact (brēäN`), agreement, signed Aug.
..... Click the link for more information. . Soon after obtaining his last success, the evacuation of the Rhineland, Stresemann died of the consequences of overwork. His death was, prophetically, considered a calamity by all but the extremist elements in Germany. Stresemann shared the 1926 Nobel Peace Prize with Briand.

Bibliography

See his Essays and Speeches (tr. 1930, repr. 1968); E. Sutton, ed., Gustav Stresemann: His Diaries, Letters, and Papers (3 vol., 1935–40); biography by J. Wright (2003); studies by H. L. Bretton (1953), H. A. Turner (1963), D. Warren (1964), F. E. Hirsch (1964), and C. M. Kimmich (1968).

Stresemann, Gustav

Gustav Stresemann.

(credit: Courtesy of Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz BPK, Berlin)

(born May 10, 1878, Berlin, Ger.—died Oct. 3, 1929, Berlin) German chancellor and foreign minister of the Weimar Republic. Noted as an expert on municipal affairs and a writer on economics, he was elected to the Reichstag (1907) as a member of the National Liberal Party. In 1918 he founded the German People's Party and sought to form coalitions with other democratic parties. As chancellor (1923) and foreign minister (1923–29), he worked to restore Germany's international status, pursuing a conciliatory policy with the Allied Powers. He negotiated the Pact of Locarno, supported the reparations revisions in the Dawes and Young plans, and secured Germany's admission to the League of Nations. He shared the 1926 Nobel Prize for Peace with Aristide Briand.