Karl Helfferich
1872-1924
- Banker
- Member of the Reichstag
- Spokesman for right-wing groups
Helfferich was one of the strongest opponents of the Weimar democracy and its representatives, having served in several cabinets during the final days of the Kaiserreich. He was a DNVP member of the Reichstag from 1920. He openly attacked Erzberger, Rathenau, Wirth, and other politicians in his vitriolic publications. He is considered to have been responsible in large part for the prevailing climate of political discord during the first years of the republic, and thereby also for the so-called Feme murders. In November 1923, the new Rentenmark was backed with tangible assets. Helfferich had proposed a similar solution. Despite his fame, Helfferich was not chosen to head the Reichsbank, as the government and the Reichspräsident voted against him because of his radically anti-democratic views.