Germany's hyperinflation wasn't caused by money printing "Germany did not turn on a printing press for no reason and accidentally cause hyperinflation. During the First World War, it relied heavily on borrowing because its leaders expected victory and believed the defeated countries would help pay the bill. Germany lost." "It emerged with war debts, political instability, and reparations. The occupation of the Ruhr intensified the crisis as the government supported striking workers while production was disrupted." "The government faced obligations it could not meet through normal taxation or sustainable borrowing, so it created money. Prices rose, confidence fell, and people attempted to spend currency as quickly as possible before it lost more value. That accelerating velocity made the inflation even worse." "By late 1923, one U.S. dollar cost approximately 4.2 trillion marks. Savers watched their purchasing power disappear while debtors repaid old obligations with nearly worthless currency." "Printing did not create Germany's war debts, reparations, or political crisis. It was the mechanism that transferred the cost of those problems into the currency."