Socials studies

In the period following the end of World War I, Germany experienced a disastrous period of

inflation (where prices rise, at the same time, the value of currency decreases).

For example: One day, it costs $1 to buy a soda. The next day there is hyperinflation, and it now

costs $10,000 to buy a soda. As a result, your $1 has a much weaker buying power as it did.

The German government's method of financing the war by borrowing heavily and printing

large quantities of unbacked currency began the inflationary spiral. This was elevated by the

loss of resources and reparations, which resulted from the Treaty of Versailles. And these

difficulties were in turn elevated by political violence. The unwillingness of industrialists and

labor leaders to put aside their narrow interests and work for the common good was yet

another factor which aggravated the situation. Many Germans, particularly those on fixed

incomes and pensions, endured great hardships and lived in sharply reduced circumstances.

By November of 1923, hyper-inflation paralyzed Germany and only foreign loans and the

issuing of a entirely new currency restored confidence and ended the crisis.

Date Marks U.S.

Dollars

1919 4.2 1

1921 75 1

1922 400 1

Jan. 1923 7,000 1

Jul. 1923 160,000 1

Aug. 1923 1,000,000 1

Nov. 1, 1923 1,300,000,000 1

Nov. 15,

1923

1,300,000,000,000 1

Nov. 16,

1923

4,200,000,000,00

0

1

German children build a pyramid with stacks of inflated currency, virtually worthless in 1923.

Women and children wait in line in Berlin, in hopes of buying sub-standard meat during a

period of hyper-inflation in Weimar Germany (1923).

The original caption for this photo, taken in Weimar Germany during the Great Depression,

reads: "When night comes! Picture taken in the municipal refuge for the homeless. View of one

of the dormitories which can house up to 100 people."

Workers Demonstration in Weimar Germany

First Sign: Workers demonstration against bread tax and high rents! Second Sign: The upperclass

form a dictatorship of wealth against the working class!