Germany's defeat in 1918, and the harsh peace treaty of 1919 that assigned the blame, and cost, for the war to Germany, led to political radicalism on both the left and the right. In Berlin, radical socialist revolution broke out in 1918; in 1923 in Munich, Hitler's right-wingers attempted a coup d'état. One of the firmest voices for reason and moderation, while strongly advocating German interests, was that of Gustav Stresemann, German chancellor following the war. Understanding that geo-political realities meant that Germany and France would have to find a modus vivendi, Stresemann undertook negotiations to end France's occupation of the Ruhr, reached agreement with France over national borders, suppressed radical revolts on both sides, and reformed the currency. Though historians still debate Stresemann's place as a statesman, he was indisputably a man who sought to make Weimar Germany a partner in peaceful, reasonable accommodations with Europe's other powers.

1. With the Treaty of Versailles, which Stresemann opposed, Germany lost significant territory, and many ethnic Germans found themselves living outside Germany's new borders. Examine how the map of Germany was redrawn (and read the treaty itself) at
   http://history.acusd.edu/gen/text/versaillestreaty/vercontents.html
2. A balanced assessment of why Germans like Stresemann objected strongly to the treaty is found at
   http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/modern/versaill/versahtm.htm
3. Americans today worry when inflation surpasses 5% per annum. But inflation in Germany was such that one U.S. dollar was worth 4.2 trillion German marks by 1923, forcing the Weimar government to print high-denomination bills. See a banknote worth 10,000,000 marks at
   http://www.grantsmilitaria.com/asp/search1/gallsingle.asp?idGallery=197
4. With the rampant inflation, small denomination bills were worthless. In fact, they were cheaper to burn than coal or wood. See a photo of a German woman heating her stove by burning banknotes, and a photo of a 100,000,000 mark note, at
   http://www.usagold.com/GermanNightmare.html
   There is also a technical article on the inflation of 1923 at this website, which suggests parallels between Germany in the early 20s and the contemporary U.S.