The Printing Press and the Weimar Republic; Power and Politics in an Age of Pandemic and Inflation

In this paper various instances of mass printing by the Weimar authorities are investigated, covering money, posters, cards, and leaflets. These examples provide insights into the politics of the Weimar authorities as a collective, rather than different elements within it as party political posters and leaflets are excluded from consideration. The paper shows both how the political ambitions of the Republic were promoted through print media and how print was used by the Weimar authorities to defend both itself and the people of Germany from the internal and external forces ranged against them. This investigation also uncovers some interesting parallels between then and now in terms of the current fight against both Covid and inflation, with some interesting similarities and some key differences regarding the political options available.