The New Babylon

Abstract

Like any proper tragedy, the German drama, too, had its peripeteia, the moment in the fourth act when the action, all set for a final catastrophe, is given the chance of a happy ending. The inflation had now served its purpose and the State and industry could pay off their debts in worthless currency and the time had come to think of stability, production and profits. Hjalmar Schacht, a capable financier on the board of one of the big private banks, was made President of the Reichsbank and established a new currency, provisionally called Rentenmark.Its value was based on a mortgage of industrial and agricultural assets and it proved perfectly stable, right from the day of issue.