A Brief Explanation of Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany
A fascinating case study of what happens when money printing gets out of control
Hyperinflation.
This is a term we see thrown about quite a bit at the moment. Indeed it is becoming part of our everyday lexicon. Take this tweet from Jack Dorsey, the (former) CEO of Twitter.
Whilst we are experiencing inflation across the globe right now, this isn’t “hyperinflation”. Hyperinflation is a situation where inflation is running at over 50% per month. We are currently miles off of this…
But as the term has (re)entered the mainstream, I thought it would be useful to give an account of one of the most famous cases of hyperinflation. That of the Weimar Republic (Germany) in 1923.
For many months during 1923, the German public faced crippling inflation. It created ridiculous situations, not to mention significant suffering for the German people.
The average German needed vast quantities of paper…
