The Downfall of Money
Germany's Hyperinflation and the Destruction of the Middle Class
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
An economic horror story: The complete meltdown of a major modern country's financial system, and its disastrous effects on every aspect of society.
A hundred years ago, many theorists believed-just as they did at the beginning of our twenty-first century-that the world had reached a state of economic perfection, a never before seen human interdependence that would lead to universal growth and prosperity. Then, as now, the German mark was one of the most trusted currencies in the world. Yet the early years of the Weimar Republic in Germany witnessed the most calamitous meltdown of a developed economy in modern times. The Downfall of Money will tell anew the dramatic story of the hyperinflation that saw the mark-worth 4.2 to the dollar in 1914-plunge until it traded at over 4 trillion to 1 by the autumn of 1923.
The story of the Weimar Republic's financial crisis clearly resonates today, when the world is again anxious about what money is, what it means, and how we can judge if its value is true. It is a trajectory of events uncomfortably relevant for our own uncertain world.
Frederick Taylor-one of the leading historians of Germany writing today- explores the causes of the crisis and what the collapse meant to ordinary people and traces its connection to the dark decades that followed. Drawing on a wide range of sources and accessibly presenting vast amounts of research, The Downfall of Money is a timely and chilling exploration of a haunting episode in history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British historian Taylor (Dresden) adds to a solid body of work on 20th-century Germany with this chilling account of the human face of hyperinflation in the 1920s Weimar Republic. Many blame the collapse of the German mark on the reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, yet Taylor argues that it was the Second Empire's decision to finance WWI primarily by borrowing that led to the economic catastrophe. Postwar uprisings on the left and right further destabilized the country's fragile, young government and diminished confidence in its already-shaky currency. The mark's value began to tumble, and once the fall gained momentum, "the only way now was down." Prices rose 50% a month. Hyperinflation made Germany a "paradise for anyone who owed money"; citizens at all levels of society discovered that their fiscal prudence had been for naught. The result was a "war of all against all" and a society of "starving billionaires," where a doorman received a million-mark tip, a life's savings bought a subway ticket, and a girl's virginity was something to barter. The government eventually managed to sufficiently stabilize the currency and foster a sense of hope, but the disaster had already fatally weakened the mutual trust essential to democracy. The beneficiary would be Hitler. B&w images throughout.
