The Downfall of Money: Germany's Hyperinflation and the Destruction of the Middle Class

The Downfall of Money: Germany's Hyperinflation and the Destruction of the Middle Class

by Frederick Taylor
The Downfall of Money: Germany's Hyperinflation and the Destruction of the Middle Class

The Downfall of Money: Germany's Hyperinflation and the Destruction of the Middle Class

by Frederick Taylor

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Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781620402382
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: 09/17/2013
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 432
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Frederick Taylor is the author of the acclaimed bestsellers Dresden and The Berlin Wall, both of which have appeared in many languages, and also edited and translated The Goebbels Diaries 1939?1941. He has lectured all over the world and appeared in several major television documentary series, including most recently the History Channel's The Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall and PBS's The Wall: A World Divided. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and lives in Cornwall, England.
Frederick Taylor was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School, and read History and Modern Languages at Oxford, and did postgraduate work at Sussex University. He is the author of the acclaimed bestseller, Dresden. He edited and translated The Goebbels Diaries. He lives in Cornwall.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Finding the Money for the End of the World 7

2 Loser Pays All 17

3 From Triumph to Disaster 31

4 'I Hate the Social Revolution Like Sin' 45

5 Salaries Are Still Being Paid 62

6 Fourteen Points 70

7 Bloodhounds 78

8 Diktat 89

9 Social Peace at Any Price? 107

10 Consequences 124

11 Putsch 135

12 The Rally 145

13 Goldilocks and the Mark 156

14 Boom 169

15 No More Heroes 181

16 Fear 202

17 Losers 206

18 Kicking Germany When She's Down 228

19 Führer 244

20 'It Is Too Much' 250

21 The Starving Billionaires 267

22 Desperate Measures 286

23 Everyone Wants a Dictator 300

24 Breaking the Fever 316

25 Bail-out 337

Afterword: Why a German Trauma? 343

Appendix: Timeline of Key Events 361

Notes 371

Bibliography 393

Acknowledgements 399

Index 403

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