Lably
Skip to content

Reichsmark

Currency of Germany from 1924 to 1945

  • 8 min read
  • 8 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Currency, Nazi Germany and World War II

Lab · Class 5–7Coins and Currency of IndiaLab · Class 6–7Map ExplorerLab · Class 6–12Ancient Indian Ocean TradeLab · Class 8–10India's Freedom Struggle

History

Establishment

The Reichsmark was introduced in 1924 as a permanent replacement for the Papiermark. This was necessary due to the 1920s German inflation which had reached its peak in 1923. The exchange rate between the old Papiermark and the Reichsmark was 1 ℛ︁ℳ︁ = 1012 ℳ︁ (one trillion in American English and French, one billion in German and other European languages and British English of the time; see long and short scale). To stabilize the economy and to smooth the transition, the Papiermark was not directly replaced by the Reichsmark, but by the Rentenmark, an interim currency backed by the Deutsche Rentenbank, owning industrial and agricultural real estate assets. The Reichsmark was put on the gold standard at the rate previously used by the German mark, with the U.S. dollar worth 4.20 ℛ︁ℳ︁.

Expansion outside the Reichsmark

During this period a number of shell companies were created and authorized to issue bonds outside the Reichsmark in order to finance state projects. Nominally exchangeable at a 1:1 rate for Reichsmarks but then discounted by the Reichsbank this created secret monetary expansion without formally renouncing the gold standard of the Reichsmark.

World War II

With the annexation of the Federal State of Austria by Germany in 1938, the Reichsmark replaced the Austrian schilling. During the Second World War, Germany established fixed exchange rates between the Reichsmark and the currencies of the occupied and allied countries, often set so as to give economic benefits to German soldiers and civilian contractors, who were paid their wages in local currency. The rates were as follows:

Post-war

After the Second World War, the Reichsmark continued to circulate in Germany, but with new banknotes (Allied Occupation Marks) printed in the US and in the Soviet zones, as well as with coins (without swastikas). Inflation in the final months of the war had reduced the value of the Reichsmark from 2.50 ℛ︁ℳ︁ = $1US to 10 ℛ︁ℳ︁ = $1US and a barter economy emerged due to the rapid depreciation.

After V-E Day, the Reichsmark's value decreased to 200 per dollar. While for German civilians one Allied Occupation Mark was equivalent to one Reichsmark, soldiers selling things civilians wanted on the black market could receive Reichsmarks, exchange them for Allied Occupation Marks, then exchange Allied Occupation Marks at ten per dollar. A carton of American cigarettes the post exchange sold to soldiers for $0.50 was worth 150 marks or $15 to German civilians; matches were the change.

The Currency Reform of 1948 replaced the Reichsmark with the Deutsche Mark at a rate of 10:1 (1:1 for cash and current accounts) in June 1948 in the Trizone and later in the same year by the East German mark in the Soviet Occupation Zone (colloquially also "Ostmark", since 1968 officially "Mark der DDR"). The reform under the direction of Ludwig Erhard is considered the beginning of the West German economic recovery; however, the secret plan to introduce the Deutsche Mark in the Trizone was formulated by economist Edward A. Tenenbaum of the US military government, and was executed abruptly on 21 June 1948. Three days later, the new currency also replaced the Reichsmark in the three Western sectors of Berlin. In November 1945, the Reichsmark was superseded by the Second Austrian schilling in Austria. In 1947, the Saar mark, later replaced with the Saar franc, was introduced in the Saar.

Sign in to keep reading

7 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Modern

Nazi GermanyGerman state from 1933 to 1945COVID-19 pandemicPandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2Russian EmpireRussian state from 1721 to 1917American Civil War1861–1865 conflict in the United StatesBritish Raj1858–1947 Crown rule in IndiaUnited States NavyMaritime service branch of the U.S. military