Made in Germany: The German Currency Crisis of July, 1931

Abstract

The Great Depression reached a turning point in the currency crises of 1931 and the German banking and currency crisis was a critical event whose causes are still debated. We demonstrate in this paper that the crisis was primarily domestic in origin; that it was a currency crisis rather than a banking crisis; and that the failure was more political than economic. We clarify the arguments involved as we present this view. German banks failed in 1931, but the problem was not primarily with them. Instead, the crisis was a failure of political will in a time of turmoil.

Keywords: Great Depression, Germany Currency Crisis, German banking, Germany

JEL Classification: N14, E32