Book contents
- Central Bank Independence and the Legacy of the German Past
- Central Bank Independence and the Legacy of the German Past
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 In Search of the Reichsbank
- 2 The Bank deutscher Länder and the Foundation of West Germany, 1948–1951
- 3 Adenauer’s Challenge: The ‘Gürzenich Affair’ and the Bank deutscher Länder, 1956–1957
- 4 The Shadow of National Socialism: Karl Blessing and the Bundesbank in 1965
- 5 The Bundesbank, Social Democracy and the Era of the ‘Great Inflation’, 1970–1978
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Conclusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 September 2019
- Central Bank Independence and the Legacy of the German Past
- Central Bank Independence and the Legacy of the German Past
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 In Search of the Reichsbank
- 2 The Bank deutscher Länder and the Foundation of West Germany, 1948–1951
- 3 Adenauer’s Challenge: The ‘Gürzenich Affair’ and the Bank deutscher Länder, 1956–1957
- 4 The Shadow of National Socialism: Karl Blessing and the Bundesbank in 1965
- 5 The Bundesbank, Social Democracy and the Era of the ‘Great Inflation’, 1970–1978
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
‘The Germans had terrible experiences with inflation in the twentieth century’, recalled Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) in March 2012. He was speaking to two journalists from the tabloid newspaper Bild at the ECB’s headquarters, who had just given him a Pickelhaube. ‘It does away with value and makes forecasting impossible. More still – inflation can downright destroy the society of a country.’1 To be dead set against inflation, to be for a strong currency, and to be independent of politics – these were ‘German virtues’. And they were virtues, Draghi said, that every European central banker should strive towards.2
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- Central Bank Independence and the Legacy of the German Past , pp. 314 - 332Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019