Why Germany Caught Hyperinflation in 1921 (Documentary)

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The German post-WW1 economy was under pressure: The loss of territory, the war bonds issued during the war and the reparations under the Treaty of Versailles. All this lead to a downward spiral of rising inflation and living costs for German citizens.
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» SOURCES
Feldman, Gerald: Vom Weltkrieg zur Weltwirtschaftskrise. Studien zur deutschen Wirtschafts-und Sozialgeschichte 1914-1932. 1984.
Fergusson, Adam: Das Ende des Geldes. Hyperinflation und ihre Folgen für die Menschen am Beispiel der Weimarer Republik, 1975.
Grosch, Waldemar: Deutsche und polnische Propaganda während der Volksabstimmung in Oberschlesien 1919-1921. 2002.
Lewek, Peter: Arbeitslosigkeit und Arbeitslosenversicherung in der Weimarer republik 1918-1927. 1989.
Michalczyk, Andrezej: Celebrating the nation: the case of Upper Silesia after the plebiscite in 1921.
Neubach, Helmut: Die Abstimmung in Oberschlesien am 20. März 1921.2002.
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»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Editing: Jose Gamez
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Maps: Daniel Kogosov ( / zalezsky )
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Contains licensed material by getty images
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2021

[@TheGreatWar]

Support us and get 40% off Nebula: go.nebula.tv/the-great-war Watch 16 Days in Berlin on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/16-days-in-berlin-01-prologue-the-beginning-of-the-end?ref=the-great-war

[@jackrosario9990]

No it won't, Germany was on the gold standard and the United States is not, federal taxes and control of interest rates and money given out by the federal reserve, the United States hasn't been on the gold standard since Nixon took the USA off it

[@KAPTAINmORGANnWo4eva]

Ah yes the most neutral party to mediate a German territorial dispute less than 5 years after WWI was obviously *Belgium*

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

Can't possibly see anything wrong with that XD

[@ahmadniam3568]

Of course

[@awildtannerwasfound5045]

@N Fels That’s cause they are, I propose two new states: South Netherlands and North France. No more Belgium. Belgium bad.

[@poiuyt975]

@N Fels That's a contemporary point of view. It was not so in that first half of the XXth century.

[@himoffthequakeroatbox4320]

The country that has a territorial dispute with itself.

[@_ArsNova]

I appreciate you all actually detailing why the German mark devalued the way it did. Too many programs/textbooks simply say: "Germany lost, war reparations, then hyperinflation" without going into the actual economic mechanics and politics at play.

[@janusx66]

But they wont tell you that the inflation begun in 1914. War costs money, and they had not enough to make war, not the Germans, nor the Allies, that's why they came up with a inflation economy.

[@MrMarinus18]

The Weimar republic kind of was the very first corporate welfare state.

[@lordraydens]

@@janusx66 losing the war blew that open. had germany not been fucked so hard, they might've been able to get some kind of handle on it

[@sarahconner9433]

Tell Aviv bankers

[@888ssss]

they dont want you to spot their global paper game.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Rising beer prices probably is the most German reason to riot for 🍺🍺🍺🍺

[@hlynnkeith9334]

Why not? The Dutch rioted when their governors tried to tax beer. (07 October 1714)

[@wills2140]

Man, the things that happen in german beer halls ...

[@Sabrowsky]

Beer is serious business dude

[@johnr797]

"The Beer Hall Punch"

[@jjns5600]

@@hlynnkeith9334 Oh when England exacted steeper tea taxes on the American colonies (Boston Tea Party, 1775)!

[@Tadicuslegion78]

"Trillion dollar coin" Well there goes my....everything

[@NandiCollector]

LOL! :D

[@ameyaagarwal1170]

United States of Weimar

[@johnl.7754]

Not really that is only 3.4% of National Debt of $28.8 trillion 😳

[@Fronzel41]

@@ameyaagarwal1170 Weimerica

[@eddied.5156]

Saying the last president was reckless for spending 8 trillion in 4 years while trying to spend 8 trillion in under a year. 🤔 Gaslighting has been perfected under the former vp and his handlers. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@haraldschuster3067]

My grandfather used to tell me how they got a quarter of an hour off during payday which was already once per week. They took their envelopes, ran outside where their wifes were waiting and handed them the envelopes. The wifes then immediately spent that money (where money was still accepted) because that money might buy them a bread today and be completely worthless tomorrow. I still own money from that period that has been stamped over multiple times because they could not print money fast enough so they restamped existing notes. Usually with a factor of 10 to 100. Utter madness.

[@NilsNone]

in my grandparents house we found some reichsmark in the windowframes as insulationmaterial.... its was just cheaper to use money than to get some propper stuff in there

[@adamdawson8285]

That’s what coming worldwide after 2025/26 but this will be 100x worse with the society we have created by the think tanks programmed people

[@gonshocks]

So exactly 100 years ago the government, economists, and industrialists were just as stupid as we are today.

[@emuriddle9364]

Pretty much. Colonialism and Westward Expansion gave them a false sense of superiority. To the point where they ignored what's really happening in their own country. (Everyone thought that WW1 was going to be like the Boer War: A simple adventure.) But it wasn't.

[@freeeggs3811]

You do know the government didn’t cause hyperinflation right?

[@tommyscott9085]

​@@emuriddle9364Hopefully the rest of the world does not follow the mistakes of the West.

[@mattipps]

Very very stupid which seems odd. Maybe it's by design.

[@terrancejfry497]

​@@emuriddle9364colonialism also invented the modern world, so in short, get fucked.

[@danreed7889]

My wife is German and she has a 5 million Mark bill that is printed on only one side.

[@MenwithHill]

I think that technically only makes it 2.5 million marks

[@GregMoress]

@@MenwithHill I bet she wants her.... money BACK

[@dbergerac9632]

During the Carter administration, the Bureau of Printing and Engraving was authorized to print US currency on one side, "if it should become necessary".

[@danreed7889]

@@dbergerac9632 thankfully we didn't get to that point

[@issintf925]

@@dbergerac9632 That is wild! Is there any source you could link for that?

[@umjackd]

Subtitles and spoken endings are a bit different. "The only history channel betting on Kerenski Rubles" is also a great line!

[@duckman12569]

'stopped backing their currency with gold' True story: My own government is now refusing to exchange silver for cash money. So there's that.

[@Billhatestheinternet]

Hey, the US quit backing the Dollar with silver by the 1960s.

[@chinesememer]

Fiat currency was invented by song dynasty chinese which lost the entire country to kublai. It’s simply an exploitation of the common people. No lessons were learned since kublai was more interested in ‘turning mongols into chinese’.

[@user-xb9yv2ci4c]

Fiat can work, if not too much money is printed and credits are revoked if there is too much inflation.

[@duckman12569]

​@@user-xb9yv2ci4c It's just funny how it keeps happening with inflation. Almost like those criticisms are guaranteed to keep happening with such a system.

[@iamthetruemichael]

What government? I know you're not talking about the USA, the US government hasn't backed fiat with metal since the 60's... If you want to exchange dollars for silver in the US go to a currency exchange shop.

[@deadasparagus]

Wait a second, where have I heard this one before...

[@Truthorfib]

Ukraine sounds like Upper Silesia. There are Ukrainians that are pro-Russia as they are ethnically Russian. And there are pro-EU mostly from Lviv that used to be historical Poland.

[@fulamorales2943]

rich dad, poor dad! R.K😁🥳🤫

[@grogery1570]

I was once asked why paper money had value while a paper napkin did not. I explained that the money had confidence behind it, confidence that it could be exchanged for some thing, the napkin did not. When you start printing money like napkins it starts to have the same level of confidence, some thing you might blow your nose with but not much else.

[@Grizabeebles]

I'm partial to the explanation "the value of money is completely symbolic". It's not just a matter of enough people "having confidence" in a given currency. Much of contemporary consumer finance relies on obfuscation through complexity in order to fleece the unwary and encourage those with assets to hand over their money and only think about what the finance professionals are doing with it once per quarter. The system isn't built on trust in the value of money. It's built on *trust in the value of "the clergy" of money*.

[@ianbaker2599]

@@Grizabeebles You said that so eloquently, and yes so true. In Australia they have a more crude saying "baffle them with bullshit", meaning much the same thing. Much of todays world is like that, too complex but made that way on purpose.

[@888ssss]

nice opening line about the napkin. i will save that.

[@geigertec5921]

This is a very sad story, especially because of the parallels we can see happening today. Humans never learn.

[@FirstLast_Nba]

It's ALMOST Deliberate ............ !!! ???

[@gregorysaugustine5236]

Human can only truly understand what they've experience by themselves. Teachers can only do so much and hope the new generation learn from their experience. Well hope and gamble is two side of the same coin, I think.

[@TuhljinTampergauge]

"Inflation isn't real" - Biden administration a few months ago "Inflation is only a problem for rich people" - Biden administration last week

[@surroundgatari]

Clearly we need more wars. The glory itself must surely stabilize the price of salmon, we just need to believe harder

[@sarahconner9433]

Your very naive.... LUCIFER AND LUCIFERIANS are running this little planet

[@imyourdaddy5822]

Me a person watching this video in 2021: *sweats nervously*

[@klm20079]

its already happens... prices are sky rocket now days... house prices, food prices... getting worse.

[@gregbors8364]

@@klm20079Way to be overdramatic… the little bit of inflation the US has experienced is nothing like it was even in the 1970’s, let alone Germany during the time period described here… are you taking wheelbarrows full of cash to the grocery store?

[@halljustin4306]

@@gregbors8364 as if I can afford a wheelbarrow. Lmao

[@asiblingproduction]

@@gregbors8364 Not yet, but it could very quickly get out of hand. Nobody foresaw 2008 happening till it happened.

[@HoraceRocketMan]

@@gregbors8364 yeah dude, absolutely nothing to worry about. little problems never grow, as history confirms :)

[@avnrulz]

100 years later, and here we are all over again.

[@m9078jk3]

Ah 2040 The second Battle of Britain

[@1320crusier]

@@m9078jk3 I mean.. it does seem like Germany wants a third go at it xD

[@theyoutubenomad.3035]

@c0ya1 so the us economy basically operates as the backbone of the world economy .

[@maxkronader5225]

My maternal grandmother lived during the weimar republic hyperinflationary period. She told stories of how her father (who worked in a small factory) would draw his pay in cash at lunchtime on Friday. The children would line up to receive their share of the paycheck to run off and buy bread, eggs, flour, etc., before the prices rose after lunch.

[@jasondecharleroy4161]

My grandfather collected stamps here and there and he happened to have quite a few from Germany since that is where his family was from. I saw at least two 5 billion mark stamps in the collection. When teaching inflation to students I bring those up and try to see if they can grasp spending $5 billion to send a letter through the mail.

[@mikeromney4712]

...and send the letter now on thursday, tomorrow it cost 6 billion RM...... I remember family stories from my German great grandparents, when my great grandmother nearly lashed out and bursted in tears when my great grandpa did not go shopping immediately after receiving the weekly wages on Friday. On Monday he would got a half bread and a button without any thread for his wages as shipping company employee... "Heinrich, shall we starve because of your stupidity?".....The shops immediately tried to get rid of customers and to close them early. For them it was also ruin if they still sold something at the old prices of this week. If you weren't quick on Friday afternoon, you had empty pots for the next week. The reason why hard bread could be bought at new prices on Monday....;)

[@marcusmaynard1526]

They are going to get to soon considering the fact that our central banks are printing so much money.

[@jacksone5856]

Only a few years off course in our current repetition of the past. The first decade of the 21'st century has been hauntingly familiar.

[@hiddentruth1982]

U.S. is going through the same thing. they are trying to print a 1 trillion dollar coin. very much like Germany did in the 20's.

[@frederickbays405]

@@hiddentruth1982 try again kid U need to look at just what Germany was going through (war debt to capitalist in Germany, paying reoperation & trying to rebuild a nation that had been almost destroyed by war The USA has none on these USA only problem is a very much bloated military budget by about 90% If USA where not spending over a Trillion/yr (yes it is over a T b/c of on going projects not the almost 800B budgeted for 21/22) it would haver more then enough $ to do all it needs to do to be the leader of the 31st Centry it should be

[@mikefowler301]

@@frederickbays405 Bullshit, the U.S. was not doing that in the 1920's.

[@mikefowler301]

31st century? LOL

[@ForelliBoy]

Especially that segment 12:53 about the ultra-wealthy stockpiling their cash abroad to avoid taxation while the domestic situation degraded

[@ktipuss]

In Germany's former Pacific colonies the Mark went the other way from 1914; it started to appreciate! The problem was the shortage of German Marks there after Allied (i.e. Australian) occupation in September 1914 to meet demand. This prompted the Australian Government to print off thousands of paper Marks to stabilise the currency in the former German colonies. Both the German and Australian Marks were withdrawn by mid 1915 and replaced by British and Australian Pounds. The Australian Marks are extremely rare and valuable nowadays and a set still exists in a museum in Munich.

[@GabAintGabbing]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you're talking about Austria?

[@ktipuss]

@@GabAintGabbing In September 1914 everyone still thought that the War would be over by Christmas and all armies would go back to their original countries and occupations would end. Thus New Guinea and the islands would return to Germany, so no need to change the currency in 1914 from the Mark. By April 1915 it was apparent the War would last much longer and so the Mark was withdrawn.

[@cd5433]

@@GabAintGabbing Australia occupying German island territories .

[@jointhecommunistpartywegot9415]

​@@ktipuss Wich museum holds the set?

[@andrewjgrimm]

@@GabAintGabbingPretty sure Australia was meant, as Austria was a Central Power, and Australia (as part of the British empire) was part of the Allies. At least one of Germany’s colonies eventually became an Australian run colony (Papua New Guinea).

[@rc59191]

I don't know why but there's something fascinating about studying economics.

[@specialnewb9821]

It's so dismal

[@cardenasr.2898]

Economic history is marvelous indeed

[@midsue]

Agree 💸

[@olegkosygin2993]

I guess it's educational

[@rc59191]

@@specialnewb9821 I wouldn't say that lol unless you're talking about the economics in the fallout games then that's pretty depressing.

[@jdrobertson42]

So rich people didn’t pay taxes while speculating wildly on dubious currencies. The past sure was weird…

[@michaelclark3261]

Ah delicious irony

[@collie8]

😂

[@WalterReimer]

For a modern example of hyperinflation, see Zimbabwe. They were printing 100 trillion dollar (Zimbabwean) notes in 2008.

[@cardenasr.2898]

Venezuela is also a relevant example, as they have removed digits from their currency a number of times

[@WalterReimer]

@@cardenasr.2898 Argentina, also, as well, too.

[@cardenasr.2898]

@@WalterReimer that is correct, Argentina has a long history of inflation and is currently on the double or triple digits of yearly inflation if I am not mistaken

[@finejustgivemeaname]

I might still have one of those

[@derekbrunette222]

at that much inflation, their single denomination notes had to have been cheaper than individual squares of toilet paper

[@rabihrac]

"The entire tax system is a shaky house of cards" Lebanon 2021

[@GamerFr0mSWE]

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it..

[@starwarzchik112]

@@GamerFr0mSWE Just wait until a Syrian fails art school.

[@riograndedosulball248]

Lebanon just cannot catch a break...

[@manfredgrieshaber8693]

One man had foreseen all this postwar struggles, Ivan Bloch, a polish russian prewar railroad tycoon who had analysed the economic impacts of the wars during the mid of the 19th century in the USA and in Europe. He came to the conclusion that wars between full developed countries are senseless as even the victorious party could only win by overstreching its own ecomonic power so at the end this party would face the same crisis as the defeated party and won't achieve any benefit out of a future war.

[@mikeromney4712]

But Ivan was wrong in terms of the newer time. That was true before wars were fought in gigantic coalitions to ruin whole continents....It needed only two world wars to establish a fraud-based global banking system...with clear economic winners.....

[@jamesmeow3039]

Pretty sure Maynard Keynes was the most prolific critic of this. His book Economic Consequences in 1919 went through six editions and was published in like 20 languages or something crazy

[@sergiocortez2633]

Money machine goes brrrrrrrrrr

[@carlyellison8498]

This is not true.

[@user-zl1yn6ys1c]

Brrrrrrr

[@StonieTark]

@@carlyellison8498 thanks for fact checking the sound a money machine makes, very useful, added lots to the conversation, you must be a blast.

[@sontodosnarcos]

If you are Argentine, you can relate to almost everything that was explained in this video.

[@888ssss]

thats if you can afford electric to view it.

[@tommyscott9085]

​@@888ssssSheesh do you live in Argentina?

[@michaelrodriguez3329]

My aunt who lives in Argentina . Tells us here in the U.S. How much buying power the U.S dollar has . If you want to take a nice vacation and get more for your dollar, go to argentina

[@SteveMikre44]

Every episode Jesse gets better and better. It will not be long until Hollywood notices and makes him the next James Bond...

[@qr8440]

Names Bond, Jesse Bond. ... I'll see myself out.

[@SteveMikre44]

@@qr8440 🤣

[@SteveMikre44]

@Uncle Joe 🤣

[@Nick-ce6lt]

@N Fels Lol but it's Bond, War Bond

[@TheSquidPro]

I'd rather not see him backseat on a little scooter. Jesse deserves more honor like Odenkirk in nobody.

[@Fortuna_Magica]

Still as brilliant and informative a series as it was 7 years ago X-D I'll keep keeping an eye on the series episodes coming out :-D

[@rubengutierrez19]

Same I miss indy but this guy has gotten much better since he started

[@az8039]

Couldn’t be more timely

[@meegz149]

why?

[@drivenbyrage5710]

The American dollar is no different. Except for one major issue. Nearly every nations currency is backed by the US dollar today. So, when the dollar inevitably collapses, the world goes with it.

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

Actually the one major difference is that America is the world's 'Bruno'. See Bruno is a DA and embarrassment to his friends. He drinks and spends too much and is irresponsible... But when his friends (the World wealth) want somebody's legs broken, Bruno handles it... So all else is forgiven of Bruno. You Get it?

[@drivenbyrage5710]

@@JohnDoe-pv2iu sounds like Nicky Santoro from Casino.

[@Derp12]

@@JohnDoe-pv2iu I hope you're referring to only the government and not the people

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

@@Derp12 I am definitely referring to the 'Establishment'... Not the People.

[@geordi5054]

The dollar is extremely unlikely to collapse, especially as major investors like China will go through great lengths to support it.

[@JonMI6]

Sounds like where the US is headed now

[@RiwenX]

And Europe.

[@goldeneagle3088]

@@RiwenX nah, definitely just US

[@carlyellison8498]

Wrong. Please do not spread information hysteria.

[@JonMI6]

@@carlyellison8498 we have clowns that want to spend money like it’s going out of fashion. They’re telling us that $3.5T is 0

[@RiwenX]

@@goldeneagle3088 Not sure where you're from. But in my country, as well as in the Eurozone, money supply has multiplied, loans are thrown after anyone, and food and fuel prices are rising every week.

[@BlueWaterSTAX]

It's funny how history repeats. Useless paper Dollars,Pounds and Marks are being printed at a astonishing rate.......to fight inflation. Thanks for the history lessons.

[@888ssss]

if they can con you to work for paper they will.

[@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022]

People really be thinking 8% inflation is "literally Weimar Republic".

[@braedonalster5818]

Nervously shifting in my seat watching in 2022

[@thepearlswirl]

2023 here I’m shaking lol

[@Mr_BreadMan]

It's crazy how many parallels there are to the USA today.

[@1320crusier]

But hey, lets spend 12 TRILLION in a year. Itll be fiiiinnnnee

[@varana]

@@1320crusier The differences between the current USA and early Weimar Germany are staggering, though. Like one, the US is still the main economic power of the entire world, is politically mostly stable (unless some morons decide to occupy the seat of Congress), and markets around the globe trust their ability to not default on their loans. It's comparing apples to pears. Well, except for the inability of reluctancy to tax the rich.

[@jjns5600]

@@varana There's really no comparison to be made. The USA was not militarily and hence it's economic and industrial infrastructure largely demolished. No upheaval of our political system and no real threat to it (some would argue from within), etc. To put it briefly, "the state of our union" is secure, despite the political infighting and occasional social unrest. Once again, there's no fair comparison to be made.

[@GregMoress]

Complete with demonizing a race of those who test higher in math and reading.

[@roryokane5907]

@@varana that bit at the beginning of the video that all the libertarians screeching about quantitative easing seem to be ignoring - that the Brits helped finance their war by whacking up taxes on the wealthy and business, which worked out better. Hrm. Wonder why.

[@theconcorde777]

Venezuela: hold my money

[@dobertjowneyrunior3023]

***laughs in US monetary policy***

[@brazilianpc6627]

One thing it's for sure the current keynesian global experiment has much more destructive potencial than the german hiper-inflation, 2008 or even 29

[@johnl.7754]

The main saving grace for Americans is that most developed world (Europe, Japan…) including China is in the same boat.

[@TheArklyte]

@@brazilianpc6627 just copy 1998 solution and drop US inflation onto somebody else. It's not like Russia or China would fund armed uprising in retaliation if that happens again, right?;)

[@brazilianpc6627]

@@TheArklyte this time the thing is global, everyone is on high debt and people have where to run , the cripto-currencyes

[@AfricanRituals]

@@brazilianpc6627 you’re deluded if you think the US is doing anything keynesian right now

[@tpaktop2_1na]

I have been waiting for this episode. I want to understand this situation.

[@poiuyt975]

3:50 It's refreshing to see a mainstream newspaper writing the truth. That would be unimaginable in modern day Germany.

[@Ackalan]

I was thinking the same about the West in general.

[@poiuyt975]

@@Ackalan True.

[@alancranford3398]

Why bother demonetizing the channel when hyperinflation will do the same thing naturally. A timely topic from 100 years ago!

[@jimmcdonough5497]

Happening now in the US

[@thepearlswirl]

exactly why I’m here💀

[@calebkoivisto5524]

Exactly 100 years ago and History is repeating itself. Thank you for covering the post-war years.

[@Willy_Tepes]

I am so exited for what comes next ;) 2033, start of a new age?????

[@samarkand1585]

Repeating how?

[@calebkoivisto5524]

@@samarkand1585 My government, the US Government is printing vast sums of money to pay for itself, and as result prices on goods have gone up. We are 29 trillion dollars in debt.

[@samarkand1585]

@@calebkoivisto5524 The scale is absolutely not comparable

[@calebkoivisto5524]

@@samarkand1585 Of course. I am just saying that in some aspects history repeating itself

[@redsands1001]

Very interesting. Thanks for the numbers

[@flopez1397]

Muchas gracias por el excelente trabajo.

[@cardenasr.2898]

When events seem to repeat after 50 or 100 year periods one is tempted to assume history is cyclical however it is necessary to differentiate between structural and punctual crisis. Before saying "history repeats itself" you must carefully analyze the circumstances around the periods you want to compare

[@voskoff7]

Shutup

[@olegkosygin2993]

We are in an unprecedented age. We've never been so populous, we've never had so little natural world left - back in the previous collapses and wars, people went to forests and foraged in the fields, but nowadays it's all just farmland and sprawl. Green desert where most of the year, there's nothing at all to eat. And we've never ever been this dependent on never-stopping, never-slowing growth. If we are to end up in a situation where a fifth of the country has starved to death 100 years ago, we'd lose much, MUCH more people MUCH more rapidly. Perhaps so rapidly that we won't be able to readjust quick enough.

[@Willy_Tepes]

Maybe these events are not organic, maybe they are orchestrated by those who profit from unrest? Maybe this seems like Weimar 2.0 because they are following the same plan as last time, but now on a global scale?

[@olegkosygin2993]

@@Willy_Tepes You're giving them way too much credit. These elites are simple animals, thinking in short term, following the smell of food/money. It's very rare for them to think in the long term, and this is why revolutions are both possible and inevitable. Lenin's said: "those who make change impossible make revolution inevitable", and they do indeed make change impossible because they're already at the top and any change would challenge that.

[@cardenasr.2898]

@@olegkosygin2993 yeah I guess you got a point that they can't be that smart to predict such changes however as a historian I have seen situations were an apparent change was more like an "update" to the system to keep the basic structure going. I know because my country's independence was due to one of those "revolutions to keep things the same"

[@iggsta3o5]

History often repeats or rhymes

[@drivenbyrage5710]

"History doesn't repeat, but it sure does rhyme." - Mark Twain

[@wills2140]

The Great War thank you for an episode I have been hoping to see since you continued the series after 1918! Great job on presenting this great historical information to us, Jesse (:

[@John8coming]

I heard a story from a German dude, where's his greatgrandfather got robbed . But the robber didn't stole the money, the robber stole the wheelbarrow .

[@antpoo]

I heard it was a wheelbarrow. The guy was hauling a wheelbarrow of cash to the bank, the robber stole the wheelbarrow.

[@John8coming]

Sure I'll change my comment

[@oliversherman2414]

Keep up the great stuff

[@jamesrichey2434]

Kind of eerie isn't it how fast-forward a hundred years, the similarities are scary. Not just for us, but for the world as the dollar is king, at the moment anyway.

[@andrewl2787]

Thank you so much for this channel

[@David-pd8yr]

What a great video. Thanks for making this.

[@bpdispatch6433]

One thing that wasn’t covered here is that the German Mark was being pretty heavily insulated for many years prior to 1914. If you really want a very in-depth look at this object, Manako 64 released a video today on it, it was fantastic

[@pax6833]

When I was in Ellis Island, I saw various foreign currencies on display. One of the notes was a 5 million Mark note.

[@danreed7889]

Got one

[@moosemaimer]

The government of Zimbabwe for a time was bringing in foreign currency by selling its own as novelties. Who wouldn't want a $100.000.000.000.000 bill?

[@dave_sic1365]

We are still in possession of 20.5 billion mark

[@AndrewBaker-ym3mk]

Firstish? I’ve been waiting for this episode for a while, glad it’s arrived

[@Blitz9H]

Interesting and thought provoking. Thank you.

[@dik943]

2:40 that guy sounds smart. If only a competent chancellor had made him minister of economics.

[@jangelbrich7056]

He was. Later under Hitler.

[@cletus223]

His assessment of Great Britain wasn't quite right though. They were largely kept afloat with American loans from 1916 on.

[@stewarti7192]

@@jangelbrich7056 That's the joke.

[@nc8507]

@@jangelbrich7056 woosh...

[@jangelbrich7056]

@@nc8507 Ya ok, calm down =)

[@hlynnkeith9334]

Jesse & Flo, Outstanding episode! Real Time History and The Great War channel gets better every week.

[@TheGreatWar]

thank you!

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks!

[@undeadalex4579]

@@jessealexander2695 just qouestion is that really you jesse?

[@jessealexander2695]

@@undeadalex4579 I don't think I have any impostors, so yes.

[@TelosBudo]

Great vid

[@yovanalazaro1710]

Thank you very much for this engaging and useful video. Both the primary and secondary sources used aid to the comprehension of the topic. This is of utmost importance for teachers and researchers who work on the economic effects of WWI in Germany.

[@samarkand1585]

I'm curious, what was the war-financing policy of France during the war too? Especially after losing so much industrial production in the north.. I know they indebted themselves massively to the US, but what else besides that?

[@undeadalex4579]

they also relied on finance from far away colonies

[@maxshmotolokha1954]

Cool vid!

[@jstone4351]

Don't worry folks, soon we will get to experience this firsthand in the US.

[@cages3989]

Yeah your 100% right history repeats itself sadly

[@albachman]

BRICS just announced the gold.

[@matthewlucas4142]

Woodrow Wilson, the gift that keeps on giving

[@markgarrett3647]

Demoncrats

[@hotsauceislethal9430]

Ah yes the inevitable debt-printing doom cycle. Can't wait!

[@simsportif]

what a perfect timing for a video on hyperinflation. Just as the US federal bank prepares to mint a 1(one) Trillion USD coin..

[@AnarchyEnsues]

one wonders why the Germans thought there was a stab in the back,

[@nickjames5602]

Hi Jesse, awesome video! What font you are using in this video for the call outs? Like the one at 4:22? And where can I get hold of it? Thank you in advance, 😀

[@KyleThill]

Yes, you hear about this all the time. This was by far the most detailed description of the event.

[@pmoneygf]

Is it 100 years already? Ok, here we go again...

[@valentinbrescan288]

This video is brilliant

[@FromMyXP]

I got curious about "Are there a billion leaves in a forest?" so I did a little research. I found an estimation of 2000 trees per hectare (100 meters x 100 meters, about 2.5 acres) in a natural forest. I found a lot of estimation for the number of leaves in a tree, I took 50k (its in the middle of the range, and simplify the calculations) So we got about 100,000,000 leaves per hectare, which means 10 billions leaves per km² (or about 26 billions per square miles) Even if the estimations I took are wrong by a few orders of magnitude, I think it is safe to say that there are (more than) a billion leaves in a forest.

[@salaciouscrumb9312]

Excellent deduction man.

[@salaciouscrumb9312]

Excellent deduction man.

[@TA-ne4nh]

Money printing - sounds well too familiar…

[@Ardunafeth]

So basically what the European Central Bank is doing right now...

[@1320crusier]

European central bank, US govt, China (yes, them too). We are all so incredibly screwed its not even funny

[@rappakalja5295]

Quantitative easing does not equal money printing

[@Ardunafeth]

@@rappakalja5295 Yes it does. It actually does... It is exactly the same thing.

[@rappakalja5295]

@@Ardunafeth Might I suggest you pick up any macroeconomics textbook and see its definition yourself?

[@Ardunafeth]

@@rappakalja5295 It's the monetary financing of debt. It is exactly what Germany did in the 1920's... Sooner or later the system will come crashing down... Maybe you should pick up a macroeconomics textbook...Making up bullshit names for money printing is something for politicians, not for serious economists...

[@diggydumbo9294]

Governments be like: -Start a War -Print money -Raise taxes ~Inflation gets higher and higher~ -Blame the population and factory owners for not paying the taxes.

[@tertiary7]

bankers be like ...

[@user-tv6tu1hp6t]

Watching in 2022! Great video - thanks for the lesson!

[@mitchellhomestead8905]

I can see America going this route very soon.

[@mattipps]

It looks more likely every day.

[@RonJohn63]

3:03 Interestingly, the US successfully used war bonds 20 years later. (Of course, they *also* had high marginal taxes.) 16:51 "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money!"

[@thedon1570]

This is where Biden is taking America now

[@RonJohn63]

@@thedon1570 LOLOLOLOL that quote has been around in the US since *at least* the 1970s. (And it was W who ballooned the deficit.)

[@guilhermesstrueb881]

Ah you guys.....I love this Channel.

[@lubu2960]

All of this sounds familiar to an Argentinian. You only need to add the goverment trying to deal with inflation with ridiculous price controls that only worsen the situation.

[@finejustgivemeaname]

I remember the early 2000s economic crisis of Argentina

[@alkzavaleta7876]

Why dont they just stop printing money? I know is not that simple but I always wanted to know why governments increase inflation by printing more and more money

[@lubu2960]

@@alkzavaleta7876 Multiples things. They're a populist party, their thing is to give things to the people: social programs, public employment, more pension, etc. The party of "the people" if they stop, they're gonna lose. They're also big on keynesian economics that says that in recessions you always need to spend to increase demand (giving money to people so they consume) and we're always in recession so the spending never stops. And obviously you need corruption in every step of the system, you have entire provinces who completely rely on public employment and do electoral fraud buying votes with food and money and if you stop printing their economy will collapse.

[@natecaldwell6384]

Can I donate to this channel I want to help. You guys give me so much and I appreciate the new knowledge this channel brings me every day.

[@pwee507]

1:57 sounds familiar

[@matiasfpm]

Argentina and Venezuela: we are reaching there lads!

[@alanrichardson3459]

Thanks!

[@BA-gn3qb]

I want to go to a "Tax Evasion" party.😁

[@honkhonkler7732]

100 years from now.... "Worthless Paper Money- American hyperinflation starts after covid"

[@hesliterallymebro]

More like during

[@warrenbuffet8630]

It’s a matter of time

[@roryokane5907]

Literally not at all. Not even close. For a start, Biden wants to put up taxes on the wealthy, which as the video points out about 3 minutes in, is exactly what the British did to help avoid inflation. Second: the US is the global economic hegemon. It’s pretty secure. Third: most of the spending is on things like infrastructure projects, which as well as putting money in the pockets of Americans building them, also pay for themselves over time through gains in productivity. Third: the US hasn’t just been left a total economic wreck by a war (or by CoViD for that matter).

[@johnasbury7511]

Watching this feels like sitting in a high-end college enjoying a wonderful lecture

[@indianajones4321]

How much does a loaf of bread cost? Yes

[@sandervdbrink84]

The sound of the video clips is so loud that it's hard to hear the narration...

[@cenccenc946]

Germany the worse case of hyperinflation. Venezuela: hold my beer.

[@jinshiksung]

How to paying off debt

[@NjK601]

I have a question that kind of applies to both channels time frames, how come the research and development of Congreve rockets seemed to just come to a halt? It seems like they could be useful in the trench warfare of WW1.

[@PatMzongo]

I felt like Jesse put a little bit more emotion in this episode, I personally liked it

[@DoraFauszt]

Ah okay, I've learnt something new today - if I don't want to pay taxes, I just need to throw a lavish party or two. Why did nobody teach me that at MBA?! 🤓🤔

[@jessealexander2695]

Party time!

[@Taeerom]

That only works if you are already rich. And it really does work. Just call the lavish party a fundraiser event, paid for by your own charity foundation. This expense is now a marketing expense for the charity, and the money you give to the charity is exempt from taxes. Voila, you can now spend a few hundred thousands on parties, while having your taxable income be reduced by just as much. And there are more loopholes like this one, this is an old trick from the 20ies. We have even more refined ways to go about it today. And the loopholes are never plugged, because that charity of yours are spending a lot of its money (that doesn't cover parties and salaries for friends and family) funding political campaigns. And if the politicians you, and your friends, bankroll start plugging the loopholes in the tax code, their funding will dry up and they'll be replaced.

[@thedon1570]

You’re just not that cute

[@kurousagi8155]

@@Taeerom the catch being that the fund raisers actually need to make money. Otherwise, if you continually throw fund raisers that lose money that can be used against you in tax court.

[@Emppu_T.]

History doesn't always repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

[@PDZ1122]

When the price of beer goes up, it's time for revolution. Say no to extra 6 Pfennig!

[@artystaar]

There was no such thing as a German Mark, or Deutschmark until 1948! The currency of the hyperinflation was the Reichmark.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

I thought the Reichmark came later. What was the currency the Weimar Republic used in 1921?

[@artystaar]

@@hlynnkeith9334 The Reichmark was the first currency of the united Germany and used until the introduction of the Ostmark in the East and the Deutsche Mark in the west.

[@hlynnkeith9334]

@@artystaar I ask again, what was the currency the Weimar Republic used in 1921?

[@artystaar]

@@hlynnkeith9334 Reichmark

[@igorbrille8222]

@@hlynnkeith9334 why you ask other people,you have no google?

[@P4Tri0t420]

101 Years later, again Inflation in Germany

[@thepearlswirl]

I think hyperinflation will be global soon..if not already

[@DrLegitimate]

12:40 - modern USA be like, 'is he talking about us'??

[@user-xb9yv2ci4c]

No. The American debt is absorbed by people in other countries who make business in dollars. As long as the world economy increases, the USA can print dollars without causing an inflation.

[@larryjones4096]

The is a very deep and revealing subject not well known in a historical sense.Text books certainly didn't cover enough,it was through my German language class this time was brought into full detail because my teacher had parents who went through it all.Whole wheelbarrows of printed marks to purchase a loaf of bread resonated with me every much as hearing the stories of my grandparents about the Great Depression.

[@surroundgatari]

I don't know where you went to school, but in my Northern European country we studied this thoroughly in elementary school history class. In fact the Weimar Republic part of history class was what stuck with me the most

[@Jeff-hn8iy]

Anyone else in here to get a preview of what will happen with the US dollar?

[@killerbee1974]

You know things are bad when you get more value from burning money then spending it

[@Mico605]

This sounds odly familiar