In 1923, German money was so worthless that it was used as wallpaper and insulation!

After World War I ended, Germany was forced to pay $132 billion in reparations. They were forced to pay, because they were blamed for World War I even occurring. The problem was that they didn’t have $132 billion or even close to it in their gold and revenue as a country. The value of their currency plummeted and became utterly worthless. They needed hundreds of dollars to pay for a loaf of bread. The whole thing was ridiculous. People ended up collecting the money and using it as wallpaper to insulate their homes, because that was a more valuable use of the paper.

The country was in dire straits by 1923. They began reevaluating the situation and trying to find other means of currency to reboost the economy. They eventually settled on the Reichsmark as their new currency and built the economy back up based on that.

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