Inflation Trauma? The Hyperinflation of 1923 in Pictures and Theories

The inflation of 1923 was not a new experience; the feeling of uncertain monetary conditions had been deeply rooted in Germany since the early modern period. If there is a German trauma of inflation, it goes back to the Kipper and Wipper period at the beginning of the 30 Years War. Memories of the horrors of inflation were handed down into the 20th century, e.g., in the 18th, century by J. H. G. Justi and especially influential in the 19th century by Gustav Freytag. Only in the Federal Republic of Germany did a strong focus on the year 1923 set in. Based on this traditional historical experience, contemporaries explained inflation in 1923 by deviations from the metal standard and inflation was morally wrong. Its cause was seen in the lack of adherence to civic virtues. This normative level is closely linked to the economic discussion of inflation.