Inflation Banknotes @museum.de

M2: What would you do if you had 50 million marks?

F: People in 1923 might have been able to buy a loaf of bread with the money, if it was even enough. In May 1923 a loaf of bread already cost a staggering 1,200 Reich Marks. By October, people were paying an unbelievable 670 million.

M: In 1923, Germany was in the throes of hyperinflation. It was one of the consequences of the First World War. The four-year war had cost enormous sums of money – money that the German Empire did not have. While the war was still ongoing, the government printed more and more money to keep the war machine running and to pay its own debts. To finance the war, the German Empire had asked its citizens for millions of Reich Marks in advance, in the form of war bonds.

F: A vicious circle was set in motion: as more and more money came into circulation, its value declined. In part, that was because there was hardly anything left to spend it on. Food and other goods were in short supply. By 1923, inflation had finally reached unimaginable levels. People who had collected their wages in the morning could usually no longer buy anything for the money by midday.

M: The consequences were dire: people fell into poverty and went hungry. There was great suffering, especially in the cities. Anyone who was able, headed for the countryside and tried to exchange jewellery, fur coats and other valuables for food. Meanwhile, the printing presses kept running. The highest-denomination banknote ever issued was for 100 trillion marks. That's a one followed by 14 zeros.

F: Cities and communities were given permission by the Reich Ministry of Finance to print emergency money. One of them was the town of Bruchsal. Among the notes issued was this one for 50 million marks. On the front, it shows the Bruchsal men's prison and a wagon with prisoners heading toward the gate. The surrounding banner reads: "Everyone walks around me in style. Counterfeiters are driven inside."

M: On the back, there is a reference to the secret "national anthem" of Bruchsal locals – the Brusler Dorscht. It tells the story of the life of the Count of Kraichgauland, who loved his tipple but didn't like paying the bill. The inflation banknote reads:

M2: "We are the count his heirs,

Impoverished by his thirst.

Instead of coins, we print our dosh.

And how we pay? Who gives a toss.“