On April 27, 1921 the Allied Reparation Commission fixed the total War Reparations to be paid by Germany at 132,000,000,000 gold marks. Regarding the sum as far in excess of what the country could pay, the current government resigned. In the face of an Allied ultimatum based on a threat of an occupation of the Ruhr, the new chancellor secured a reluctant vote in favor of paying. It proved impossible to pay the required sums on time, and the French made a technical default by Germany in timber deliveries the pretext for occupying the Ruhr in January 1923.

The occupation vastly worsened the economic situation. The German government (another new one) ordered passive resistance to the French and Belgian attempts to get the mines and factories working and a ban on all reparation deliveries. The occupation forces replied with mass arrests and an economic blockade that cut off the Ruhr and the greater part of the Rhineland from the rest of Germany. This was a devastating blow to the German economy, especially after the final loss, in 1921, as a result of a plebiscite and League of Nations ruling, of the coal mining and industrial areas of Upper Silesia. As a result, by July 1, 1923 the mark had fallen to 160,000 to the dollar; by November 20, 1923 it was down to 4,200,000,000,000 (4.2 trillion) to the dollar. Barter replaced other commercial dealings and food riots broke out.

We have probably all heard the story about the workers being paid every few hours, and of the workman who took a wheelbarrow full of paper money to the store to buy bread. He parked it outside (after all, who would bother stealing it?) while he went in to see if any bread was available. When he came out, he found the money dumped on the ground, and the wheelbarrow stolen!

The mark was finally revalued on Dec 1, 1923 at the rate of 1,000,000,000,000 old marks to 1 new mark, or one trillion to one.

Postal Rates

Postal rates for the period dramatically document the inflation. All postal rates, including registration fees, inland and foreign mail etc. are found in a table in the Michel Germany Specialized Catalog. Here is a summary of changes to domestic, city to city basic letter rates (Fernverkehr) and rate change dates:

Date Rates in Marks Apr 1, 1921 .60 Jan 1, 1922 2 Jul 1, 1922 3 Oct 1, 1922 6 Nov 15, 1922 12 Dec 15, 1922 25 Jan 15, 1923 50 Mar 1, 1923 100 July 1, 1923 300 Aug 1, 1923 1,000 Aug 24, 1923 20,000 Sep 1, 1923 75,000 Sep 20, 1923 250,000 Oct 1, 1923 2,000,000 Oct 10, 1923 5,000,000 Oct 20, 1923 10,000,000 Nov 1, 1923 100,000,000 Nov 5, 1923 1,000,000,000 Nov 12, 1923 10,000,000,000 Nov 20, 1923 20,000,000,000 Nov 26, 1923 80,000,000,000 Dec 1, 1923 100,000,000,000 Or 0.10 new marks!

- Mrs. Nagalakshmi Tadakaluri, Philatelist.

---

Bookmark with: