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After the First World War, Germany was forced to agree to pay high reparations. In order to make it easier on themselves
policymakers even purposefully fanned inflation to show the former Allies that Germany was too weak to pay the reparations it owed.
Political satirists used Johannes Gutenberg (German inventor of the printing press) in their cartoons - highlighting how printing presses were now being used to print money, instead of printing Bibles:
All of the money-printing, inflation and desperation sowed the seeds for the rise of Nazism
The greatest impact of the hyperinflation of 1923 may be the hardest to measure: how it turned Germans against each other, breeding the mistrust and animosity that made Nazism seem like such a good idea to so many people. Rising prices brought “hate, desperation and need,”
With foreign governments on its side and a series of reforms in place to shore up state finances, Germany buried the old mark on November 15 and replaced it with a temporary currency, the Rentenmark, which was soon replaced with a permanent one, the Reichsmark, and put on the gold standard. Germans could exchange their old marks for new ones at their earliest convenience.
Obviously this would later changed when fiat was introduced...
Thank You for bringing up this classical case study of modern history. The general strike to counter the french occupation of the ''Ruhrgrbier'' zone, financed with the printing press, is something that humanity never would repeat (lol). And yes, thanks to Fiat, we made evolutionary giant steps!
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Quite a case study. I never knew that the politicians had purposefully made it worse. Did the article miss anything?
Have you ever seen one of the big bills shown in the article? Not quite as big as that massive Zimbabwean bill - but surely bringing up a close second.
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My grand parents had a collection of stuff of these days. I have no idea where these bills are. Need to talk to my mother now that You remind my. The article is well written. This photo is iconic: your paid wage to buy a bread...
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If it happens again it really wouldn't have the same impact as everyone uses plastic.
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