Ask YC: How bad is the economy? 18 years ago
Are you sure this episode happened during WW2 and not rather during the hyper inflation from 1921 to 1922?
edit: I've talked with somebody born in Germany in 1931. According to him there was no visible inflation during the war. Prices were dictated by the government. But money was basically worthless because people additionally needed government issued vouchers in order to be allowed to buy stuff and they got these only for what the government regarded as people's basic needs.