1923

How were the German Public affected by the period of Hyperinflation within Germany?

To find out

How Hyperinflation affected different

people within Germany

What effect Hyperinflation had on

Weimar Germany as a whole

Click for a table showing how the mark lost its value

From a woman who worked in a Christian Centre, helping the poor.

The widow of a policeman was left with four children. She

had been awarded three months of her late husband’s

salary. By the time she received it the amount was only

enough to buy three boxes of matches.

Der Polizist

Discuss and consider the following sources

How were different people affected by Hyperinflation?

The memories of a German writer.

One day I dropped into a café to have a coffee. As I went

in I noticed the price was 5,000 marks – just about what I

had in my pocket. I sat down, read my paper, drank my

coffee, and spent altogether about one hour in the café,

and then asked for the bill. The waiter duly presented me

with a bill for 8,000 marks. ‘Why 8,000 marks?’ I asked.

The mark had dropped in the meantime, I was told. So I

gave the waiter all the money I had, and he was

generous enough to leave it at that.

Bill

How were different people affected by Hyperinflation?

The German Health Minister, February 1923

This shocking decline in health conditions applies to the

whole of Germany. In the country areas where farmers

can feed themselves, conditions seem to be better. But

in the towns…there has been a decided decline.

Especially hard hit are the middle class, those living on

small sums given annually, the widows and the

pensioners who, with their modest incomes, cannot

afford today’s prices…Death rates are rising…as are

deaths from hunger.

How were different people affected by Hyperinflation?

The effects of Hyperinflation

Widow

Professionals

A Farmer

Now , using the information sheet,

Complete the table on the following slide

adding as much detail as you can for….

Pensioners The Middle Classes

Rich Businessm

en

The Poor

Groups How people were affected?Impact on Weimar

Government

Pensioners

Middle classes

Rich businessme

n

The poor

Click here for a past paper question

Effects of Hyperinflati

on

Think about the effects on certain groups of

people – like me!

Small Businesses

Pensioners

Farmers

Add other people to the diagram and explain how

each was affected.

Ruhr

Treaty of Versailles

Passive Resistance

Hyperinflation

Peace Treaty which Germany was forced to sign following the First World WarWhen prices are rising so fast that bank notes cannot be printed fast enough to keep up with rising prices

A rich industrial area in Germany that contained factories and coal mines

Refusal to work which meant fewer goods were coming from the Ruhr

Recap Task.Draw lines to match the term to its correct definition.

END

Explain how hyperinflation affected the German economy.

(4 marks)

WJEC, Paper 1, Study In-Depth, June 2004

July 1914 £1 = 20 marks

January 1919 £1 = 35 marks

January 1920 £1 = 256 marks

January 1921 £1 = 256 marks

January1922 £1 = 764 marks

January 1923 £1 = 71,888 marks

September 1923

£1 = 1,413,648 marks

October 1923 £1 = 3,954,408,000,000 marks

November 1923

£1 = 1,680,800,000,000,000 marks