Japan And Germany's Economic Conditions After Ww2

Dire economic conditions allow for fascist leaders to take control. Both Japan and Germany suffered similar fates after World War 1. The War left both countries in bad economic positions. For Japan, this sluggish economy paved the way for increased militarization and an increase of the importance of the military. After losing the war, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Written by the U.S., France and Britain, Germany had to dismantle its army, take full responsibility for starting the war, give up some territory along its border, and they had to pay enormous amounts of reparations to Britain and France. Reparations are money paid to the winning country for damages cost during war. Having already spent so much money and resources trying to sustain an entire army for 4 years, Germany was unprepared for what would come next.
In an effort to pay these fees, the German Central Bank began printing enormous amounts of money. The more marks that got printed, the less those marks became worth. Suddenly, in November 1923, 726 billion marks were equal to 1 US dollar. There were shortages of food and people were resorting to violence among other measures to get even the most basic necessities. Personal savings became inutile as numerous banks all across the country were forced to shut down. Prices of goods were skyrocketing but wages were not able to keep up the pace. At a time of such extreme hardships for many, support among extremist groups also began to rise. Government officials in Germany began looking to find someone to blame all of Germany's problems