The British heroically restored their pre-war parity and almost instantly generated a million unemployed and a slump that persisted until the end of the 1930s. … Japan underwent several rounds of deliberate deflation to get back on gold that proved utterly futile. In the process they annoyed their own military so much that it began to assassinate key members of the financial elite and forced a reflation of the economy far greater than the Swedes or the Germans ever managed. Finally, France remained on the gold standard longer than anyone else and ended up, arguably, suffering the most. They ceased to exist as an independent nation. French financial elites were so afraid of inflation, and were so determined to maintain the value of the franc, that they paralyzed the French military’s ability to mobilize against Hitler.

Mark Blyth, Austerity, loc. 557