Why did the cabinet change 20 times by weimar Republic
Answers
There is doubt from some historians as to whether the ‘Golden Age’ actually existed. However, there were improvements that helped ordinary working Germans during this time:
Hourly wages rose in real terms (ie above inflation) every year from 1924 to 1930, with a rise of 10 per cent in 1928 alone.
Pensions and sickness benefits schemes were introduced.
Compulsory unemployment insurance was introduced in 1927, which covered 17 million workers.
Government subsidies were provided for the building of local parks, schools and sports facilities, and there was a massive programme of council house construction.
Despite all of this, a large increase in the working age population during the mid-20s led to increasing unemployment, and farmers in particular suffered from declining incomes.
Changes in the position of women
Work
German women contributed massively to the war effort during World War One. However, after the war the government ordered women to return to their pre-war roles, either in low-skilled jobs or in the home, to allow returning soldiers to take up work:
Women experienced pressure to return to their ‘traditional’ role as wives and mothers.
However, attitudes towards women and work changed according to how well the economy did.
During times of economic crisis, such as the hyperinflation of 1923 and during the Great Depression, women returning home were seen as a solution to the problem of unemployment.
However, during the recovery of the mid-1920s women were welcomed into the workforce. The number of women in work was 1.7 million higher in 1925 than it had been in 1907.
Women were increasingly taking on white collar jobs, though these were mainly done by single women under 25.
Overall, the percentage of women in work only rose by less than 1 per cent between 1907 and 1925.