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In 1920s Germany, the post-W.W. I economy was in a disastrous shambles. The official Reichsbank note was all but worthless. By the end of 1923, one American dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 marks. Government mints churning out notes couldn't keep up with inflation—the demand for money was too great. Therefore, German towns were allowed to print their own emergency scrip, called Notgeld. (Some examples are reproduced in German Modern: Graphic Design From Wilhelm to Weimar.) But these weren't simply standardized notes; sizes and designs varied from town to town. And rather than just print traditional styles of currency, some municipal governments actually hired illustrators who created sequential stories on the notes, like mini graphic novels. Remarkably, these stories weren't only boosting patriotic ideals—instead, they often reflected the despair and cynicism of the times with a bleak humor. While the artwork can vary from accomplished to crude, it's remarkable that local governments allowed such scathingly satiric commentary and dark whimsy to appear in such "official" form. (Apparently, many officials had collectors in mind when issuing the scrip.) It certainly gives you an idea of the national mood at the time, and how such universal desperation could lead to the spread of Nazism. For further information on the history of German scrip, read this short excerpt from German Series Notes from 1918-1922.) Here are some of the Notgeld stories (as titled by me). I am not sure if they are all complete. Translations are by Cynthia Turczyn. —C.T.
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