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The Weimar Republic was also able to improve relations with other countries such as France. German culture also flourished at this time, and Berlin became a famous artistic center at this time. By 1928, it appeared that the Weimar Republic was a success and would provide Germany with a stable and democratic form of government for many years to come. During these years, the left and right-wing extremists had been marginalized, but they still had significant popular support.<ref>Harman, p. 8.</ref>
====How did the Weimar Republic react to the Great Depression==? ==
[[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-S38324,_Tag_von_Potsdam,_Adolf_Hitler,_Paul_v._Hindenburg.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|President Paul von Hindenburg meets Chancellor Adolf Hitler in 1933 at the new Reichstag]]
In 1929 the Great Depression was triggered by a massive US stock market crash. Counterproductive and damaging economic policies exacerbated it. Financial panics and bank failures slow crept around the world. The repercussions were felt around the globe and especially in Germany. The United States could no longer provide the loans that the Weimar Republic needed. Furthermore, global trade almost came to a standstill, and many Germans became unemployed. One in three Germans were unemployed at the height of the economic crisis, and poverty and hunger were widespread. The Republic was in the grip of an economic and social crisis.
In 1930 , the conservatives won the election. Chancellor Brunning embarked on a series of disastrous economic and political policies. His economic policies involved devaluing the German currency, but this had only the effect of causing hyperinflation that compounded Germany’s economic problems. Furthermore, Brunning discarded the Constitution and ruled by Presidential decree to manage the country's socio-economic conditions. The Great Recession and Brunning's response led many people to become disillusioned with the Republic and even democracy. <ref>Nicholls, Anthony James (2000). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312233515/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312233515&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=c73d8de75e0efebecb8d0388f55c8f79 Weimar And The Rise Of Hitler]</i>. New York: St. Martin's Press, p. 117.</ref>
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