One of the principal attractions of a policy of devaluation and exchange liberalization for Goerdeler was precisely that it would have a bracing effect on German public finances. To maintain the confidence of the currency markets following a devaluation, Germany would need to return to fiscal discipline. In the short run, the effects on the German economy might be severe. Goerdeler calculated that there might be as many as 2 to 2.5 million unemployed. But, as a veteran of Bruening’s deflation, Goerdeler did not shrink from such hardships. A liberal policy demanded a long view. In due course,
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