Hjalmar Schacht: Hitler's Banker Who Tried to Stop Him
By James Lawrence
Hjalmar Schacht was one of the most brilliant - and most contradictory - figures of the twentieth century: the economist who rescued Germany from collapse, financed Hitler's rise through monetary innovation, and later risked his life in a conspiracy to bring the regime down. Hjalmar Schacht: Hitler's Banker Who Tried to Stop Him is a gripping narrative biography that reads like a political and economic thriller, tracing the life of a man whose genius became both his making and his undoing.
The book follows Schacht from the chaos of 1923 hyperinflation and his "Rentenmark miracle," through the fragile successes of the Weimar era and the moral drift of the Great Depression. It explores his early belief that he could "manage" Hitler, his pivotal role in constructing the financial machinery of rearmament - including the infamous Mefo bills - and his growing horror as the regime accelerated toward war and brutality. By the late 1930s, Schacht had broken with the Führer, joining conservative resistance networks and becoming entangled in the 1944 assassination plot. Arrest, concentration camps, and the Nuremberg dock followed.
With sharp analysis and cinematic storytelling, James Lawrence examines the ethical dilemma at the heart of Schacht's life: How does a man become indispensable to a destructive regime while convinced he is acting for national salvation? And what responsibility does the technocrat bear when expertise becomes a weapon in the hands of power?
Reassessing Schacht's legacy with nuance and moral clarity, this book situates him within the broader story of economic nationalism, authoritarian temptation, and the perilous belief that "smart men" can control dangerous leaders.
A compelling biography for readers of Lords of Finance, The Wages of Destruction, The House of Morgan, and modern works on democracy, authoritarianism, and technocracy.
