Why did Gustav Stresemann support the Young Plan?

Gustav Stresemann, who served as Germany’s foreign minister during the Weimar Republic, supported the Young Plan as part of his broader policy of "fulfillment." He believed that Germany could best achieve relief from the harsh conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles by attempting to meet its international obligations rather than resisting them.1

Stresemann’s support for the plan was driven by several key strategic objectives:

• Evacuation of the Rhineland: A decisive argument for Stresemann was that he secured a promise from the Allies to evacuate the entire Rhineland by June 1930 in exchange for accepting the plan.2
• Economic Sovereignty: The plan abolished the foreign controls over German economic life that had been established under the previous Dawes Plan.32
• Financial Stabilization: The plan provided a more definitive settlement of the reparations question, reducing the total amount due and establishing the Bank for International Settlements to manage financial transfers.32

Despite facing intense opposition from right-wing nationalists who viewed the agreement as a humiliation, Stresemann remained committed to this diplomatic path until his death in 1929.21