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002 German Republic
002 German Republic
GERMAN WORLD
CHAPTER 2
German Republic
1918-1933
PIOTR KALINOWSKI
Chancellor broad power to act outside parliamentary control, which he
German Republic used to thwart constitutional governance and civil liberties. Hitler's
seizure of power (Machtergreifung) thus ended the republic. Democracy
collapsed, and the creation of a single-party state began the dictatorship
of the Nazi era.
Monetary System
1 mark = 100 pfennig
1923: 1 dollar = 420 pfennig
Currency reform 1924:
1 000 000 000 000 mark = 1 mark
Issuer Starting Number
Reichsschuldenverwaltung ..........................................................AA028
Reichsbank ...................................................................................AB019
Reichspost ....................................................................................AC016
Reichsverkehrsministerium .........................................................AD001
Deutsche Golddiskontbank ..........................................................AE001
Deutsche Rentenbank ...................................................................AF001
Reichs Schulden Verwatlung
(Empire Dept Administration)
1920 Issues
The Weimar Republic was the German state from 1918 to 1933, as it
existed as a federal constitutional republic. The state was officially the
German Reich (Deutsches Reich), and was also referred to as the German AA028 (P58): 1 mark VG VF
As: German text. Rs: German text. 90 x 60 mm
Republic (Deutsche Republik). The term "Weimar Republic" refers to the
a. 1. 03.1920 1 2
city of Weimar, where the republic's constituent assembly first took place.
In English the country was usually simply called "Germany"; the term
"Weimar Republic" did not become common in English until the 1930s.
After four years of hostilities in World War I from 1914 to 1918 with
heavy losses, Germany was exhausted and sued for peace under
desperate circumstances. Awareness of imminent defeat sparked
revolution, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, German surrender, and
proclamation of the Weimar republic on 9 November 1918.
From 1918 to 1923, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems,
including hyperinflation, political extremism (with contending
paramilitaries) as well as contentious relationships with the victors of the
First World War. From 1924 to 1929, the Republic enjoyed relative
stability and prosperity. Those years are sometimes called the Golden
Twenties. The world-wide economic crisis beginning in October 1929 hit
Germany particularly hard. High unemployment led to the collapse of the
coalition government and from March 1930 various chancellors ruled
through emergency powers granted by the President. This period ended
with Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor on 30 January 1933.
Resentment in Germany towards the Treaty of Versailles was strong,
especially on the political right where there was great anger towards those
who had signed and submitted to the treaty. The Weimar Republic AA029 (P59): 2 mark VG VF
fulfilled most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, although it As: German text. Rs: German text. 100 x 65 mm
never completely met its disarmament requirements and eventually paid a. 1. 03.1920 1 2
only a small portion of the war reparations (by twice restructuring its debt
through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan).
Under the Locarno Treaties, signed in 1925, Germany moved toward
normalising relations with its neighbors. Germany recognised the
western borders that had been established through the Versailles Treaty,
but its eastern borders remained subject to possible revisions. In 1926,
Germany joined the League of Nations.
From 1930 onwards, President Paul von Hindenburg used emergency
powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen and
General Kurt von Schleicher. The Great Depression, exacerbated by
Brüning's policy of deflation, led to a surge in unemployment. On 30
January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor at the head of a
coalition government. Hitler's Nazi Party held two out of ten cabinet
seats. Von Papen as Vice Chancellor was intended to be the "éminence
grise" who would keep Hitler under control, using his close personal
connection to Hindenburg. These intentions badly underestimated
Hitler's political abilities.
By the end of March, the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of
1933 had used the perceived state of emergency to grant Hitler as
1922 Tresury Note “K” Issues
A special form of the Reichsschatzanweisung, which were used to pay
compensation in the event of war damage, were interest-free treasury notes of the
German Reich, which were issued by the Reich Debt Administration from January
1922 to June 1923. They are identified by the large Latin letter "K" for "war
damage" printed on the debt deeds and were issued as compensation payments in
compensation proceedings for war damage. The interest-free
Reichsschatzanweisung “K” can in fact have been used as a means of payment in
the turbulent times of high inflation. However, this can hardly be proven today.
These treasury notes were never officially approved as legal tender by the German
Reich.
No image avaible
AA055 (PNL): 10 000 000 mark VG VF
As: German text. Rs: blanc. 240 x 125 mm
a. 20.08.1923 20 50
AB062 (P105): 5 000 000 mark VG VF AB067 (P98): 50 000 000 mark VG VF
As: German text. Rs: blanc. 128 x 80 mm As: German text. Rs: blanc. 195 x 86 mm
a. 20.08.1923 2 5 a. 25.07.1923 2 5
AB079 (P116): 10 000 000 000 mark VG VF AB083 (P119): 50 000 000 000 mark VG VF
As: German text. Rs: blanc. 170 x 86 mm As: German text. Rs: blanc. 180 x 86 mm
a. 15.09.1923 20 50 a. 10.10.1923 20 50
1924 Issues
1926 Unissues
No image avaible
AB119 (PNL): 10 mark VG VF
As: Man. Rs: German text. 150 x 75 mm
a. 2.01.1926 -
No image avaible
No image avaible
AB121 (PNL): 50 mark VG VF
As: Man. Rs: German text. 170 x 85 mm
a. 2.01.1926 -
No image avaible
AB122 (PNL): 100 mark VG VF
As: Man. Rs: German text. 180 x 90 mm
a. 2.01.1926 -
1929 Issues
AC031ZD (PNL): 75 000 mark VG VF AC031ZN (PNL): 100 000 000 mark VG VF
As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm
a. (1923) 2 5 a. (1923) 2 5
AC031ZE (PNL): 500 000 mark VG VF AC031ZO (PNL): 200 000 000 mark VG VF
As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm
a. (1923) 2 5 a. (1923) 2 5
AC031ZF (PNL): 1 000 000 mark VG VF AC031ZP (PNL): 500 000 000 mark VG VF
As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm
a. (1923) 2 5 a. (1923) 2 5
AC031ZG (PNL): 2 000 000 mark VG VF AC031ZQ (PNL): 1 000 000 000 mark VG VF
As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm As: Text. Rs: blanc. 26 x 22 mm
a. (1923) 2 5 a. (1923) 2 5
Deutsche Golddiskontobank
(German Gold Discount Bank)
1924 Pfund Unissues
Deutsche Rentenbank
(German Stabilization Bank)
1923 Issues
Sources
Irwin Mark, Linzmayer Owen. The Banknote Book: Germany. San Francisco 2021
Michel. Deutschland-Spezial-Katalog. Band 1: 1849 bis April 1945.
Unterschleißheim 2005
Müller Manfred, Geiger Anton. Das Papiergeld der deutschen Eisenbahnen und
der Reichspost. Frankenthal 2000
Pick Albert, Rixen Hans-Ludwig.Papiergeld - Spezialkatalog Deutschland. Alle
deutsche Banknoten inkl. Altdeutschland und Länderbanknote vom 18.
Jahrhundert bie heute. Regenstauf 1998
Rosenberg Holger. Die deutschen Banknoten ab 1871. Regenstauf 2001
Shafer Joel, Efron Arnoldo, Melum Joan. Standard catalog of World Paper Money.
Seventh Edition - Volume Two. General Issues. Iola 1994
Shafer Neil, Bruce Colin R, Shafer Joel. Standard catalof of World Paper Money.
Sixth Edition - Volume One. Specialized Issues. Iola 1993
Revisions
11.03.2023: added AB040A, AB127 and AC031A-AC031ZV
1.03.2023: added AA34A, AA037A, AA037B,AA037C, AA038A and AA044A
5.08.2021: added A113A
19.04.2021: added AA068A and AA071A
18.04.2021: initial publication