1932. The economic crisis in Germany was unprecedented—a severe recession, 6 million unemployed, and a collapse in the popularity of Chancellor Brüning, who was criticized for his lack of foresight and who stubbornly focused on a single objective—reducing public deficits and restoring the state's finances under pressure from other European countries. All the while far-right parties, which would soon take power, were experiencing an irrepressible rise.
How can one not be struck by the similarity between the economic and political situation in Germany in 1932 and that of some Western countries in 2022?
In a fictionalized biography tracing the astonishing career of Hjalmar Schacht, a German financial genius of the last century, Jean-François Bouchard indirectly highlights the interest in drawing inspiration from the economic methods that worked at that time. With this perspective, the current economic situation does not seem to be without a solution.
It was the end of unemployment that became the factor of social stabilization for Adolf Hitler, and of consolidation of his power and of military hegemony. In this regard, sadly, the incredible story of Hjalmar Schacht is the most painful demonstration of this process.
