On the online shelves of the Maklerska bookstore you can find the book “When money dies” by Adam Fergusson. This position tries to make the reader aware of how huge a nightmare hyperinflation can be. This is the story of 1923, when the German currency became virtually worthless and the Weimar Republic almost returned to a barter economy.
When money dies – the real nightmare of hyperinflation
When the money of a given country no longer gives a sense of security, and inflation begins to raise fears in the whole society – as it is unfortunately happening in Poland nowadays – it is natural to look for information and clues in history describing the fate of people and nations that they have already had this extremely tragic and unpleasant experience behind them. In such a situation, the best idea is to reach for literature – such as “When Money Dies” by Adam Fergusson. This book presents both new and forgotten facts. The author also cites many previously unpublished opinions, among which the voices of people who could evaluate events objectively, because their wallets, health and safety did not depend on what they witnessed, seem particularly valuable. This publication describes the ten-year process of the collapse of the German currency, which, like the British shilling, French franc or Italian lira, was worth between a quarter and a fifth of the dollar in 1913, just before the First World War, and at the end of 1923 these currencies were exchanged for as much as 1 trillion German marks, although in practice no one wanted to buy it at that time. From this book we also learn that in 1923, when the German currency became practically worthless, the Weimar Republic almost returned to a barter economy. Expensive cigars, art, and jewels were routinely exchanged for staple foods such as bread; a movie ticket could be bought for a piece of coal, a bottle of kerosene for a silk shirt. This led to the fact that, in desperation, the Bavarian Prime Minister even submitted a draft law to the local parliament making gluttony a crime punishable by severe punishment. 
Since its first publication in 1975, this book has become a classic tale of those strange and terrifying times. Weaving elegant analyzes with many accounts of direct witnesses, ordinary people fighting for survival, focusing primarily on the human aspect of inflation – it raises the question of why governments resorted to it. It describes its terrible, corrupting impact on citizens, the torment associated with the process of healing the currency, and the dark, long-lasting legacy it left behind. This is a remarkable case study that shows what disastrous monetary policy can do. Certainly, this book should be taken as a warning to all rulers.
Win one of three copies
Thanks to the courtesy of the brokerage publishing house, we have three copies of the book “When money dies” by Adam Fergusson to give away. All you have to do to take part in the competition and fight for this prize is to write in the comment section (below this article) what – in your opinion – the rulers should do to fight excessive inflation and not lead to the situation described in this book it didn’t happen again. From all the answers, we will choose three, whose authors will receive one copy each.
We are waiting for your answers until Sunday, January 8, 2023.
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