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N"tion"l 5

Weim%r Germ%ny
Economic problems 1919-23
Aer World W"r One the Tre"ty of Vers"illes
w"s d"m"ging to Germ"ny "nd its economy.
The N"zis took "dv"nt"ge of these difficulties to
g"in support.

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P%ges

Weim"r Germ"ny 1919-1929

Effects of World W"r One

The Tre"ty of Vers"illes

Ch"r"cteristics of the Weim"r Government

The Sp"rt"cist Revolt

Economic problems 1919-23

The Beer H"ll putsch 1923

Economic problems 1919-23

The French inv%sion of the Ruhr

C%use

As " consequence of signing the Tre"ty of

Vers"illes, the Weim"r Government w"s
obliged to p"y rep"r"tions to the victors of
World W"r One.
In 1922, the Weim"r Government st"ted th"t
it would not be "ble to p"y the next three
ye"rs’ inst"lments "s " result of economic
h"rdship.
The French believed th"t the Weim"r
Government could p"y "nd th"t it w"s testing
intern"tion"l p"tience.

Inv%sion

In J"nu"ry 1923, the French "nd Belgi"n

"rmies sent 60,000 soldiers into the Ruhr
region of Germ"ny.
The French "imed to extr"ct the unp"id
rep"r"tions "nd took control of key industries
"nd n"tur"l resources.
The Weim"r Government instructed the Ruhr
workers to go on strike, inste"d of helping the
French.

Consequences

This worsened the economic crisis in Germ"ny.

Government income from the Ruhr, one of
Germ"ny's most industri"lised "re"s, w"s down.
The Government st"rted to print more money in
order to p"y the striking Germ"n workers in the
Ruhr.

Hyper-infl%tion

This w"s c"used by the sudden flood of p"per

money into "n economy we"kened by w"r,
combined with the gener"l strike.
The infl"tion r"te rose so dr"m"tic"lly th"t
the Germ"n currency lost virtu"lly "ll v"lue.
P"per money w"s pr"ctic"lly worthless (eg. "
lo"f of bre"d which cost 250 m"rks in J"nu"ry
1923 h"d risen to 200,000 million m"rks by
November 1923).

Results of hyper-infl%tion

Any Germ"n with s"vings lost the most, "s

their money lost its v"lue.
The elderly suffered gre"tly "s their income
w"s fixed.
Germ"ns who were p"id monthly were "lso
"ffected, "s the v"lue of their money would
decre"se " gre"t de"l before they were p"id
"g"in.
Those who were p"id weekly, or who could
renegoti"te their p"y d"ily, were better off.
Those who h"d t"ken out lo"ns, found it much
e"sier to p"y them b"ck. The upper cl"ss
l"ndowners did not suffer m"ny of the effects
of the hyperinfl"tion.
There were food short"ges "s businesses did
not h"ve enough money to purch"se produce
from f"rmers.
There w"s " rise in crime "s Germ"ns bec"me
desper"te.

In 1924, the crisis w"s brought to "n end by the

D"wes Pl"n "nd the introduction of " new
currency, the Rentenm"rk. The Germ"n
economy w"s now dependent on lo"ns from the
USA.

Hyper-infl"tion h"d serious repercussions for

the Weim"r Government. The Germ"n economy
now relied on th"t of the USA. With the
W"ll Street Cr"sh in 1929, the Americ"n
economy went into meltdown "nd the Germ"n
economy w"s pulled down with it. Industries
f"iled "nd unemployment rose to 6 million.
Soci"l unrest followed, "s people st"rved.

Next p"ge
The Beer H%ll putsch 1923

Previous p"ge
The Sp%rt%cist Revolt

More guides on this topic

Nazi rise to power

Nazi control of Germany

Nazi social and economic policies

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