Paper and Iron

Focusing on the German hyperinflation of 1923, the book challenges the prevailing view that inflationary policies were beneficial to post-World War I Germany. Niall Ferguson highlights the detrimental effects of hyperinflation on the economy, arguing it weakened bourgeois society and undermined the Weimar welfare state without alleviating reparations. He explores the long-standing political and economic flaws that prevented alternative stabilization policies, linking these issues to the eventual rise of the Third Reich and the failures of the Weimar Republic.