Why are so many smart Germans leaving their country?

Emigration is a little-discussed problem in Germany.

Photo by Pascal Meier on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

I recently came across an interesting article from the year 1923 in the archives of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Titled “Away to freedom!” the report documented a surge in Germans looking to leave the country for a better life abroad.

“A deep longing is coursing through the German people,” the article started. “They want to escape from domestic turmoil, from the hatred and envy that poisons the soul, from the ravages of inflation, and from the oppression of inadequate wages. They dream of countries where they can breathe more freely and live more peacefully.”

Most of those who had set their sights on a better life beyond Germany had bought tickets on steamers headed to the New World. A considerable number were also fleeing to neighbouring European countries like Holland, Switzerland, or Romania.

In 1923, Germany was still shattered by the effects of World War One; it was ravaged by hyper-inflation, and people lived under the constant th…