1. By 1923 Germany couldn't meet reparations payments set out by the ToV.
2. France and Belgium decided to take their resources instead, so they occupied the Ruhr - the richest industrial part of Germany. This gave them access to Germany's iron and coal reserves. This led to fury in Germany and caused a huge strike in the Ruhr.
3. German industry was devastated again. Germany tried to solve her debt problem by printing more money, but this plunged the economy into hyperinflation (Hyperinflation happens when production can't keep up with the amount of money in circulation, so the money keeps losing its value).
4. In 1918, an egg costs 1/4 of a Mark. By November 1923, it cost 80 million Marks.
The consequences of hyperinflation
- Germany's currency became worthless. Nobody wanted to trade with Germany, so shortages of foods and goods got worse.
- Bank Savings also became worthless. The hardest hit were the middle classes. (By 1923 even basic necessities were hard to get hold of. The German people were undergoing immense hardship which they'd now come to associate with the rise of the Weimar Republic.
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