The Ethics of Stabilization: Rentenmark Rationing and the Betrayal of Weimar Welfare, 1923–1924

This study examines the 1923–1924 German stabilization crisis as an ethical turningpoint for the Weimar Republic. While introducing the Rentenmark and strict fiscal austerityhalted hyperinflation, these measures dismantled Weimar's foundational welfare architecture.Executed via emergency decrees (Notverordnungen), the state shifted recovery burdens ontovulnerable populations—slashing support for veterans, widows, and pensioners. By prioritizingmacroeconomic stabilization over its constitutional Sozialstaat obligations, the republicangovernment transformed human welfare into a disposable commodity. Ultimately, these stabilization strategies forged an authoritarian template that normalizedthe suspension of social rights, paving the way for Weimar's democratic collapse.