Five Brothers and a War

Fascism

The war was badly managed in Russia, and when Czar Nicholas took direct control of the army, he was not only blamed for the military losses and defeats, but he also lost the support of the army. While the czar was running the war, he left the running of the country to the Czarina, who in turn left it to Rasputin. The winter of 1916-17 was very severe, and left the population hungry and cold. When the population revolted, the army refused orders to put down the riots, the Czar was unable to do anything, and ultimately had to abdicate. Then there was the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war with Germany. While other Central Powers’ nations had their own harsh treaties, the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to accept reparations of close to US(2014)$900,000,000,000. That amounts to about US(2014)$15,000 per man, woman and child. The treaty also required Central Powers’ acceptance that they caused the war, despite the obvious fact that there was plenty of blame to go around. The humiliation of those terms proved to provide a fertile breeding ground for anti-establishment movements. Thus, within the context of a world order thrown into chaos on virtually every level, political and economic systems were challenged and stressed to breaking points. Within Germany, hyperinflation caused all bank accounts to be worthless. People who saved for their retirements saw their nest eggs disappear within a day or two. One kilogram of beef cost about DM 5,600,000,000,000 in November, 1923. Prior to the war, the same kilo cost DM 1.75. The Allies required reparation payments in hard currency, and

unlike other nations, Germany decided to pay those reparations by borrowing, rather than by raising taxes. Germany essentially had “Gold Marks” that were backed by actual assets and “Paper Marks” which were backed by nothing. This created rapid devaluation of the German Mark.

nazi germany

The total paper Marks increased to 1.2 sextillion (or DM 1,200,000,000,000,000,000,000).

Five Brothers and a War

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