Weimar hyperinflation
- Date
- 1922–1923 (peak November 1923)
- Category
- Economy & trade
- Region
- Central Europe (Germany)
- Era
- Modern
- Significance
Burdened by war debt and the reparations imposed at Versailles, and after the Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr in January 1923 prompted the government to print money to fund passive resistance, Germany experienced one of history's most extreme hyperinflations.
The mark, which had traded at roughly four to the US dollar before the war, collapsed to about 4.2 trillion to the dollar by 20 November 1923. Prices doubled within hours, wages were paid twice daily, and savings, pensions, and fixed incomes were annihilated, devastating the German middle class. Stabilisation came in mid-November 1923 when the Reichsbank ceased monetising government debt and issued a new currency, the Rentenmark. The episode bred lasting distrust of the Weimar Republic and a deep aversion to inflation in German political culture, and is widely cited as a factor in the later appeal of extremist movements.
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Empires active in 1922–1923 (peak November 1923)
- Empire of Japan1868 CE – 1947 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
Related economy & trade events
- Wall Street Crash and onset of the Great Depression24–29 October 1929
- Soviet First Five-Year Plan and forced collectivisation1928–1933
- Cárdenas Nationalises Mexico's Oil1938
- Bretton Woods Conference creates the IMF and World Bank1–22 July 1944
- The Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression1873–1896
- The Australian gold rushes begin1851
Further reading
The wider story
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
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