(A) ** Germany printed money
(B) Industrial growth used up natural resources
(C) people stopped buying expensive items
(D) the nation’s unemployment was too high
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -In order to pay the striking workers the government simply printed more money. This flood of money led to hyperinflation as the more money was printed, the more prices rose. Prices ran out of control, for example a loaf of bread, which cost 250 marks in January 1923, had risen to 200, 000 million marks in November 1923.
Concept note-2: -Due to the impact of the war and the growing government debt, Germany was already experiencing significant levels of inflation. The government just printed additional money to compensate the striking workers. This influx of cash resulted in hyperinflation, as prices soared in tandem with the amount of money generated.
Concept note-3: -In an attempt to pay the war reparations to the Allied countries, Reichsbank, Germany’s central bank, printed too much paper currency, causing devaluation or reduction in the value of its currency.
Concept note-4: -Hyperinflation is a condition where the price of everything in a national economy goes out of control and increases very quickly. After the First World War, Germany went through one of the worst periods of hyperinflation in history. The excessive printing of currency triggered this by the government.
Concept note-5: -The hyperinflation crisis of 1922-23 was caused in large part by the Weimar government printing banknotes to pay striking workers in the occupied Ruhr. 2. By mid-1923, the printing of these banknotes, which were not backed by gold, was causing a rapid increase in both prices and wages.