Germany’s Golden Twenties: Prelude to Hitler’s Rise and the Third Reich

After World War I, Germany owed 132 billion gold Marks in reparations ($2.84 trillion USD). Germany began printing more paper money without gold reserves, which led to hyperinflation. In 1923, a further crisis worsened the economy. France and Belgium took control of Germany’s wealthy Ruhr region. Profits from coal and industry helped offset overdue Germany’s war debt, causing a loaf of bread costing 259 Marks to skyrocket to 200 billion Marks within eleven months. To combat hyperinflation, the treasury introduced the Rentenmark. This new currency, backed by land and industries, helped stabilize the economy. The U.S. 1924 Dawes Plan allowed Germany to restructure reparations and attracted foreign loans. A cultural renaissance, known as the Weimar Renaissance or the Golden Twenties, laid the groundwork for Hitler’s rise and the establishment of the Third Reich.

Berlin became the global center for avant-garde art, theater, film, and music. Expressionism, Dada, and Bauhaus shaped the arts and architecture across the Western world. City nightlife and cabarets pushed boundaries in gender, sexuality, and politics. However, the modern urban lifestyle and wealth caused social and political friction. Conservative and religious groups were against such happenings, especially in rural areas.

Germany’s parliamentary system relied on the formation of coalitions composed of parties from opposing political factions. Internal conflicts paralyzed governing. Extremist groups such as the Nazis and Communists attracted disillusioned citizens. Then, Wall Street crashed in 1929. A worldwide financial crisis spread. US banks called in Germany’s loans, plunging the country into a depression. Many Germans believed Jews controlled all the banks and wealth. Antisemitism, blamed for rampant unemployment and poverty in Hitler’s speeches, led to the Nazis’ power grab.