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abhatia · Joined: 26 Jan 2011 Posts: 37

Which class of society did the inflation hurt the most, do you think? Why?

wlotas2013 · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 20

If this is a valid response, even though they are not a specific class, the soldiers returning from the war were in a terrible position. Not only have they experience a devastating/brutal blow to the country they fought for, they are returning to a crippled Germany. A Germany that can barely take care of the people who were there before the soldiers came back. Not only does this create tension to assist them but any solution will further damage the economy.

mfaber · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 8

I think the middle class was targeted the worse by the inflation. It mentioned in the reading that a lot of the middle class lost a bunch of their savings. Also the white collar workers, who mostly came from the middle class, were placed at a disadvantage from the outcome of the war and the inflation. The working class on the other hand was somewhat protected from the inflation. On page 167 it says "Members of the working class counted on their leaders to protect them from the inflation and for a while that rust was well founded." The working class had protection while the middle class lost a lot from the devaluing of the German currency. Even though both the working and middle class were more or less in the same boat, to me it seemed like the middle class was put in a worse posistion during the inflation.

JDinardo · Joined: 14 Oct 2010 Posts: 22

I'm inclined to agree with Meike and disagree with Warren. I think that, as does the reading, that the middle class was hit hard not only because they had no protecting officials but also because they probably had savings greater than the working class people and all of those were lost. Not only that, but as, we talked about in class, someone like a haircutter will always have a job while lawyers and doctors with expensive fees will not have many clients. I think that the returning soldiers, while disappointed, frustrated and maybe even messed up, had it better than the middle class families. These soldiers all had veteran benefits that the government paid for and could get jobs on top of that, while middle class families were put out on the streets when they lost their jobs and savings.

carolineskate · Joined: 17 Feb 2011 Posts: 13

I agree that the middle class was in a bad position as well. Many of the middle class people suffered losses, while although in rough shape after the war, soldiers received veteran payments from the government. Where as, for the middle class, it was all work, and when the money was devalued, people couldn't buy goods, so business prosperity plummeted and they couldn't keep up with payments, let alone being able to raise salaries at all; therefore, having an effect on the middle class and their ability to purchase things. As we talked about a couple days ago in class, the rise to inflation and the financial crisis involved a lot of cause and effect, as well as being like one big cycle of financial issues.

aryerson2012 · Joined: 21 Nov 2011 Posts: 6

The people hurt most in Germany were those on fixed pensions, including soldiers and war widows, salaried white collar workers, and those dependent on modest amounts of cash savings. Shopkeepers generally did badly, and often saw their small savings wiped out. Blue collar workers were better protected by unions that would renegotiate their contracts. So in general, the middle classes suffered, but not equally. Those who could raise their fees for services could do a little better. And in the lower classes, agricultural workers suffered most, because they were not in unions. The wealthy, and those who owed large debts before the inflation began, did best, because they could clear their debts with inflated currency. The inflation of the early 20s left a large, bitter middle class that did not trust the republic, or any of the mainstream parties.

operaman667 · Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 9

Since hyperinflation had made the German mark worthless, most everyone that used currency at that time had to deal with the poor effects. However, I believe that the middle class got hit the worst. If you were working, you at least had some money coming in. But even so, the money they had was worthless. To top it off, peoples' savings were lost and the soldiers came back from the war, putting THEM in a bad position. Currency is simply one of the most important things that keeps a country alive. Hyperinflation just severely hurt the German economy.

bella · Joined: 17 Feb 2011 Posts: 11

The people most hurt by inflation were those who had a fixed income and lived on their savings. They had the same amount of money even though its worth went down. Unlike many in the working class, this class of people did not have unions to raise their wages with inflation. Some did get benefits from the government because of a death in the family or an injury, but the benefits were very small. This class of people had no way of keeping up with inflation. Everything was going against them and it was near impossible to right themselves.

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