Hyperinflation And The Penal System In Post World War I Germany

Since the end of World War I in 1918, and the ushering in of the Weimar constitution on August 14, 1919, the newly formed German Republic faced a series of social crisis. One of the major defining characteristic of Weimar’s fifth-teen year reign is the period of inflation and hyperinflation. Beginning shortly after Germany was defeated in World War I, and lasting up until 1924, the crisis of inflation is often contributed to the failure of this new democratic state. Many perspectives can be taken to study the effects hyperinflation had on German society, however, this essay will focus on crime, punishment, and policing, during the time of Inflation. It was during this time that we can see a sharp decline is established authority, and even political authority for that matter, while also seeing mass crime on scale never before seen in German history. Finally, the essay will touch on the topic of the penal system, and its distribution of punishment and reform. I will argue that many of the crimes committed at this time are done out of dire necessity, and therefore

Here we can use statistical data to provide a potential relationship between inflation and crime. Post World War I Germany was in political turmoil, as demonstrations and crime ravaged the streets of Berlin. In fact, it was so bad in Berlin that Friedrich Ebert, a Social Democrat, and President of the new Republic, choose Weimar to establish the Constituent Assembly, hence the name Weimar Republic. These political figures feared they could become a victim of political crime. Sarah Hall, in her essay Open Your Eyes! Public Ordering and the Policing Gaze, notes that “The International dispute had transformed into a war at home, where political assassinations, violent clashes on the streets, and partisan protests disrupted any sense of public