Lesson video

Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name's Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

Over the next few lessons we'll be thinking about our big inquiry question.

How did war impact Germany? This is the question we'll use to investigate what the conditions were like in Germany after the war.

Germany in the early 1920s was a nation grappling with profound challenges.

After the first World War, Germany was left economically devastated and politically fractured.

Treaty of Versailles imposed enormous reparations payments adding to the strain of rebuilding a nation already battered by war.

The Weimar Republic, born from revolution and tasked with guiding Germany through these challenges faced immense distrust from the outset.

Many Germans viewed the treaties terms as a national humiliation, and the economy struggled under the weight of debt.

With such a fragile foundation, how could Germany hope to recover without spiralling into deeper turmoil? What would happen if Germany couldn't afford to pay their debts? By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe the effect of the 1923, hyperinflation crisis in Germany.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

Goods, are things for sale or the things that you own.

Passive resistance, is the act of showing in a peaceful way that you oppose something rather than using violence.

Inflation is a general continuous increase in prices.

And hyperinflation is where the price of everything in a national economy goes out of control and increases very quickly.

Today's listeners, please offered to two parts.

We'll first look at the invasion of the Ruhr and the economic impact that had leading to hyperinflation or drilling into the detail and looking at the human cost of hyperinflation.

Okay, let's begin the lesson with the occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation.

The Treaty of Versailles that Germany had to pay reparation payments to the allies, and this was to compensate for the staggering cost of the First World War.

The Weimar politicians argued that this sum placed an unbearable burden on their economy already struggling to recover from the devastation of the war.

Despite their objections, their concerns were dismissed.

In April, 1921, the reparations bill was revealed to be 6.

6 billion, and Germany paid off that reparations bill with their raw materials and goods like coal, steel, and timber.

The problem was that these goods were vital to Germany's own economy.

By late 1922, Germany had failed to make its payments, meaning they were under severe economic hardship.

France and Belgium, whose economies also suffered during the war, viewed the failed reparation payments as an insult, they doubted Germany's excuses, suspecting it was a calculated move to avoid fulfilling its obligations.

On the 11th of January, 1923, French and Belgian troops marched into the Ruhr valley.

The map shows the French and Belgian invasion, and I've placed a factory symbol to highlight the Ruhr valley.

And the reason for this is that the Ruhr was home to Germany's most vital industries, and it was the region whose responsibility it was to provide coal as reparations.

Therefore, the French and Belgian aim was simple, to seize coal and other resources directly.

The occupation ignited outrage across Germany.

The occupation was more than an economic blow.

It was a wound to Germany's national pride.

Factories and coal mines fell under foreign control, guarded by soldiers who patrolled the streets.

This provocation ignited outrage across Germany uniting a fractured nation in anger.

Have a look at a photo on the left.

It shows French soldiers pointing a gun at an elderly German civilian in the Ruhr.

Many Germans were furious at the sight of foreign troops occupying their land, giving orders, and seizing their resources.

Remember, this was also a period of deep political division in Germany, with widespread criticism of the Weimar Republic and its leadership and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

However, these events briefly united Germans in their resentment of the French and Belgium occupation, which they despised even more than their internal disagreements.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why did French and Belgian troops occupy the rule in January, 1923? A, to collect reparations by seizing coal and goods.

B, to defend the Ruhr from other foreign invasions.

Or C, to place demands on a defeated country.

Watch the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew The French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr to collect reparations by seizing coal and goods.

Okay, let's continue.

The German government called for passive resistance to the occupation.

Workers in the Ruhr went on strike, refusing to cooperate with French and Belgian authorities.

Have a look at the image on the left.

It's a German protest poster from 1923 showing a German worker refusing for French orders.

The caption reads, "No, you'll not force me." And we can imagine how this poster would've been received in Germany with a population that were outraged at the occupation and more than willing to resist.

Coal miners, sabotaged machinery, railway workers disrupted transport and businesses halted production.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding, how did German workers in the Ruhr resist the occupation? A, by engaging in passive resistance such as strikes and sabotage.

B, by fleeing the Ruhr to weaken its overall economic value or C, by working extra shifts to compensate for lost payments.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was, that German workers in the Ruhr resisted occupation were engaging passive resistance such as strikes and sabotage.

Okay, let's continue.

So a significant issue of the occupation of the Ruhr and the German resistant was that Germany was already suffering inflation due to the war and reparations.

So the loss of activity in the Ruhr inflicted a further costly blow to the economy.

To support the striking workers and sustain the economy the government printed more money to pay their wages.

They spent more money flooded into circulation.

It was now too much money chasing too few goods.

However, this was made worse by the passive resistance in the Ruhr, which halted the production of goods, meaning there was a massive shortage of goods to purchase.

This caused the inflation and the price of goods soared.

The reason being is that when there is a scarcity of goods, there's not many goods around.

Prices go up because sellers can charge higher prices because they know there will be high demand for the things which are in limited supply.

Inflation, with its soaring prices slows the economy.

As goods become too expensive for many to afford, people cut back on spending.

Businesses face rising costs, as everything is expensive and the flow of money through the economy begins to stall.

And the same can be said for the government.

The government costs rise because everything is more expensive and their tax revenues.

So the money coming into the government begins to drop, it declines.

And also people are demanding higher wages 'cause they need more money to buy these more expensive goods.

And this can include just buying simple things like food to eat.

And this is where we can complete the cycle because to give workers money, the government needed more money to be printed.

And as you can imagine, this continues the cycle, which would again increase the price of goods and cause more inflation and more economic slowdown.

And this unleashes a catastrophic spiral of extreme inflation known as hyperinflation.

This hyperinflation had a profound impact on Germany, completely destabilising its already fragile economy, eroding trust in their financial and political system, leaving Germany's entire society in chaos and despair.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding, and I want you to fill in the blank, but have a read of the sentence and complete the sentence with the correct missing word.

Pause the video, have a go, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

The economic crisis in Germany in 1923, marked by rapidly rising prices and the devaluation of currency is known as hyperinflation.

Okay, let's have another check.

What's worsened the German economy during the occupation of the Ruhr? A, decline in agricultural outputs.

B, increased government spending on military defences.

C, mass immigration of workers from the Ruhr valley or D, passive assistance halting production in key industries.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was D.

Passive resistance halting production in key industries.

Okay, now I want you to complete the sentence below, the Weimar government printed money during the Ruhr occupation to support.

So I want you to complete that sentence.

Start with the correct information.

Pause the video, have a go, then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you wrote something like this, the Weimar Government printed money during the Ruhr occupation to support striking workers by paying their wages.

Okay, let's continue.

So to give you an idea of the impact that hyperinflation can have in August, 1922, one US dollar was worth 1000 German marks.

But by July, 1923, it took 353,000 marks to buy one US dollar.

So in other words, the value of one US dollar went from 1000 German marks to 353,000 German marks.

And we can also look at the impact of hyperinflation by looking at the value of goods, the price of things in Germany.

By mid 1923, prices began doubling in Germany every few hours.

Have a look at the table on the left.

It shows the costs of bread rising after 1918, and we can see in the table in 1922, a low for bread cost 163 marks.

Then in January, 1923, the date of the occupation of the Ruhr, it's risen to 250 marks.

So the price of bread is going up, it's inflating, but it's not hyper inflating just yet.

However, later that year in July, it rapidly rises to 3,465 marks.

Then again in September it scarily jumps up to over one and a half million marks or soaring to over 200 billion marks for a loaf of bread.

Can you imagine the fear of watching prices rise in this way, realising you can no longer afford even the most basic food to feed your family? Imagine a woman sitting in a bustling cafe favouring a cup of coffee.

She ordered for 5,000 marks by the time she finished and called for the bill an hour later, the waiter politely informed her that the price had risen to 8,000 marks.

You ordered your coffee and an hour later the bill has risen by 3000 marks.

This is the real life impact of hyperinflation.

Bank notes became so worthless that it was cheaper to burn them rather than to buy the kindling to light a fire.

And we can see another example of how worthless bank loads became in the photo.

It shows bank loads being used as wallpaper as it was cheaper to use them like this, than to buy actual wallpaper.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How did hyperinflation affect the price of bread in Germany, by November, 1923.

A, it became slightly cheaper due to government subsidies.

B, it fluctuated but stayed within thousands of marks or C, it skyrocketed to 200 billion marks per loaf.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that hyperinflation affected the price of bread in Germany as it skyrocketed, 200 billion marks per loaf.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the first part of task A.

What I want you to do here is complete the table below using information about the occupation of the Ruhr.

So I want you to fill in the blanks with the correct details.

So you can see the left hand column in the category column.

I'm asking the who, what, where, when, and why of the occupation of the Ruhr.

And in the right hand column where I want you to write the details, I've given you some details to help you complete that.

So for the who, I want you to state which countries were involved in the occupation of the Ruhr for the what row.

I want you to state what those countries did.

And then for the where row, I want you to state where did this action take place and why was this location significant? And then for the when row, I want you to state, when did this action begin? I'm looking for a date.

And finally for the why row, I want you to state why did France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr in the first place? Pause video, complete the table and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

And well on having a go at that task.

So your answers may include the following.

So for the who row, you should have put that it was France, and Belgium that were involved in the occupation of the Ruhr.

And for what they did, French and Belgian troops invaded and occupied German territory, the Ruhr seizing coal, steel, and other industrial resources.

Where did the invasion happen? Was the Ruhr valley Germany's industrial hearts land and it was significant for its coal and steel production.

And the occupation began on the 11th of January, 1923.

And finally, why did they do that? It was to enforce reparation payments Germany failed to deliver post World War I.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the second part of task A.

What I want you to do here is use your knowledge from today's lesson to provide evidence that supports each statement below.

So you can see I provided you a free statement and I want you to provide some supporting evidence to support each statements, gimme some additional details about the statement, some additional knowledge.

Pause the video, have a go at a task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back.

There's many ways you could have answered those questions, different snippets of knowledge you may have used here and there.

However, check your answers with what I have here.

So for the first statement, passive resistance to the occupation of the Ruhr had a severe economic impact on Germany.

The supporting knowledge here we could have put was, workers in the Ruhr went on strike sabotaging machinery and disrupting transports, which halted production and inflicted a costly blow to the economy.

For the next statement, the Weimar government's decision to print more money made the inflation crisis worse.

So we're looking for any extra piece of details we can to compliment or support this statement.

And you could have put the government printed money to pay striking workers flooding the economy with cash.

This led to a shortage of goods to purchase, causing prices to soar and triggering a spiral of hyperinflation.

And for the final statement, hyperinflation in Germany during 1923, was catastrophic for ordinary people.

And you could have put something like, by mid 1923, prices doubled every few hours a low for bread cost 250 marks in January had reached 200 billion marks by November.

Money became so worthless that people burned bank notes for warmth rather than buy the more expensive kindling.

Okay, great.

So now we have some understanding of the occupation of the Ruhr and the resulting hyperinflation.

Let's just drill down into some further detail about the impact the hyperinflation has.

So let's move on to the final part of the lesson.

The human cost of hyperinflation.

Although there were widespread shortages of food and goods, most ordinary workers managed to survive.

Although workers were never comfortable in the conditions of hyperinflation, generally speaking, their wages steadily rose to match the rising prices.

Many workers were able to renegotiate their wages daily and or even paid twice a day to keep up with inflation.

And if you have a look at a photo on the left, it shows piles of new bank notes of waiting distribution at the Reichsbank.

And we can imagine the urgency at which they wanted to get this money out into Germany to keep the economy flowing with the much needed cash.

Image here shows a 50,000 mark bank note, and there were even bank notes that needed to be made that were worth trillions.

This is a stark reminder of the desperation and chaos caused by hyperinflation.

Hyperinflation was devastating for Germany's middle class whose savings in bank accounts or pensions were wiped out.

A retired shopkeeper who had spent decades saving for his future.

By the end of 1922, he had 100,000 marks in the bank, a sum that could once buy a comfortable house.

But by late 1923, his life savings weren't enough to purchase a loaf of bread.

Professionals like doctors and teachers were reduced to providing their services in exchange for food.

Furthermore, the occupation of the Ruhr and the impact of hyperinflation had a significant impact on the political atmosphere in Germany.

Ordinary citizens humiliated by the loss of their savings and security became disillusioned of democracy.

The crisis created fertile ground for political extremism as people sought leaders who promised change.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Who suffered the most during hyperinflation in Germany.

A, farmers in rural areas.

B, industrial workers.

C, middle class savers.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew The correct answer was that the middle class savers suffered the most during hyperinflation.

So the hyperinflation of 1923, has also sparked debate among historians due to its surprising financial side effects.

The Weimar government burdened by enormous domestic debts, those that are debts from within the country, such as war related and pensions for war widows, found itself in a unique position.

By printing vast amounts of money, The Weimar government effectively paid off their debts and expenses.

They could pay these debts and pensions with worthless marks, erasing a significant portion of the government's financial burdens at home.

Although it should be said that reparations still needs to be paid.

Critics argue this was a deliberate move to relieve the government of its internal financial obligations at the expense of the public savings, while others view it as an unintended consequence of a desperate attempt to stabilise the economy during a national crisis.

Okay, now I want to read to you an account of a life shattered by hyperinflation.

And this is a piece of historical fiction, but it's been informed by source material from the time reflecting the thoughts of a middle class German during the hyperinflation crisis.

In early 1923, I believed I was still a man of standing.

As an architect in Frankfurt, my profession once carried prestige.

My income has provided security for my family and a future for my children.

But hyperinflation, devoured everything.

My savings became worthless overnight.

I vividly remember my wife returning from the market, tears in her eyes.

She had spent an entire bundle of bank notes on a single loaf of bread only to see the price double before she had left the stall.

I tried to hold onto my dignity, but it was impossible.

I bartered my drafting tools for food and burned furniture for warmth.

At one point I took a job unloading sacks of coal for a businessman, thriving in the chaos, hating dollars through foreign connections he smirked as I laboured.

People like him thrived by hoarding essentials like coal and flour, waiting for prices to skyrocket before selling while the rest of us starved.

I had worked hard my entire life.

Yet now only the unjust seem to prosper.

The so-called Weimar Republic is an embarrassment.

This democracy has brought surrender and a humiliating occupation of our land.

I also heard rumours that the government lets inflation rage so that they could erase their debts.

I'm torn.

I find myself drawn to the only voices that seem to acknowledge what is going wrong.

Communist promised fairness, while nationalists speak of pride and strength.

Heard of a nationalist in Munich called Hitler, who claims he can restore our country's honour.

Everything I once knew is gone.

The Kaiser, my livelihood, the life I worked so hard to build.

I clinging to the hope that these new voices can save us.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How did economic struggles caused by hyperinflation impact political attitudes in Germany? Was it A, they increased support for the communists and Nazis.

B, they led to widespread support for moderate democratic parties.

Or C, they strengthened public trust in the Weimar government.

Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was A, they increased support for communists and the Nazis.

True or false? No one benefited from hyperinflation in Germany.

Is that true or false? Pause the video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew that was false.

But why is that false? I want to be able to justify your answer.

Pause video, have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back and well done if you knew the correct answer was that while most Germans suffered greatly, some individuals like those with foreign currency or those who hoarded goods profited by taking advantage of skyrocketing prices.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to task B.

What I want you to do here is explain the effect of hyperinflation on Germany in 1923.

And to help you to structure that, I want you to write one paragraph for each of the following points.

So the first paragraph will be on the impact on ordinary people and the middle class, second paragraph will be on the impact on people's attitudes towards the republic.

And the final paragraph will be on the people who benefited from inflation.

So use all your knowledge from today's lesson to write three detailed paragraphs about the effects of hyperinflation on Germany.

Pause the video, have a good at task, and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Welcome back and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have answered that question and you might all have slightly different paragraphs, but compare your answer with my model answer I have here.

But for the first paragraph, discussing the impact on ordinary people as well as the middle classes.

Hyperinflation had devastating effects on ordinary people, especially Germany's middle class.

For many workers, wages rose to match the rising prices allowing them to survive despite shortages of food and goods.

However, the middle class suffered the most, as their savings and pensions were wiped out by extreme inflation.

For example, those that saved 100,000 marks once enough to buy a house, found that their life savings couldn't even buy a loaf of bread by the end of 1923.

professionals like doctors and teachers who were once well respected and financially secure were reduced to bartering their services for food.

Families burned furniture to keep warm and traded possessions for necessities.

This economic devastation eroded trust in financial stability and destroyed the hopes of a generation.

Okay, now let's look at the paragraph.

Dealing with people's attitudes towards the Weimar Republic.

Hyperinflation led many Germans to lose faith in the Weimar Republic, which they blamed for the crisis.

Many viewed the government as incompetence for the humiliating occupation of the Ruhr and allowing inflation to spiral out of control.

Sites of foreign soldiers seizing German resources, deepened feelings of national humiliation and resentment.

Ordinary citizens humiliated by the loss of their savings and security became disillusioned of democracy.

The crisis created fertile ground for political extremism as people sought leaders who promised change.

The middle class in particular, felt betrayed and began to support parties like the Communists who offered fairness and nationalists like the Nazis, who promised pride and strength.

A hyperinflation crisis tarnished the reputation of the Weimar Republic, making it a symbol of weakness and failure.

And now let's look at the paragraph dealing with people who benefited during the hyperinflation crisis.

A hyperinflation crisis of 1923, exposed and deepened the divisions within German society.

While most Germans suffered immense hardship, some individuals and groups profited from the chaos.

Businessmen with foreign connections or access to essential goods such as coal and flour, hoarded resources and sold them at inflated prices, thriving while lovers starved, even the Weimar Republic itself benefited financially as the hyperinflation effectively wiped out its debts and obligations such as war pensions by paying them with worthless currency.

This gave rise to widespread resentment as ordinary citizens felt the system was rigged against them.

Okay, great.

Let's summarise today's lesson, 1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation.

The occupation of the Ruhr deepened Germany's economic crisis, as passive resistance halted production of goods, leading to severe economic consequences.

The Weimar Government's money printing worsened inflation, flooding the economy with cash and triggering catastrophic hyperinflation, devastating Germany's middle class, wiping out savings and pensions, reducing professional to bartering for survival.

The crisis eroded trust in the Weimar Republic, seen as weak and responsible for national humiliation and economic collapse.

Political extremism gained traction with disillusioned citizens, turning to communists, promising fairness, or nationalists, offering pride and strength.

Well done on engaging with today's lesson and diving into the challenges faced during this turbulence time in history.

Thank you for joining me as we uncovered the profound impact of hyperinflation and the occupation of the Ruhr on German society.

I hope this session has helped you appreciate how historical events can shape not only nations, but also the lives of ordinary people.

I look forward to seeing you the next time as we continue our exploration into this fascinating and pivotal period of history.

See you in the next lesson.