The ruinous French demands for restitution after WWI was the exact and immediate cause of the situation that led to WWII. The Germans had no choice, really. Stand by and watch one’s wife and children starve to death, or go to war? Personally, I’d have been getting my rifle.
At least we learned from that and the Marshall Plan was the approach after WWII.
F. Paul Wilson wrote a terrific short story called “Aryans and Absinthe” that follows a couple of men profiteering in the advancing inflation.
He’s a Libertarian with some terrific fiction literature geared toward freedom, especially the LaNague Federation series. My favs though are the Repairman Jack books.