How was the Reichsmark backed with gold? Could you exchange Reichsmarks for gold in a bank?
I do know they minted silver Reichsmarks which were in common circulation. I assumed that had a lot to do with people's willingness to attribute value to the Reichsmark.
I know that West Germany also produced and circulated silver 5 mark pieces until the 1970s.
It was sleight of hand. Initially, the Reichsmark was backed by the Rentenmark, which in turn was backed by gold. Then because of the depression, the backing was replaced with a peg to gold.
The Nazis then printed far more money than the peg would allow, to buy arms, then used wage and price controls to try to keep inflation under control. They also permitted the enlargement of the black market to take up the slack.
And as they invaded other countries, they tried to strip them of wealth as well. Added together, they were able to keep something of a lid on things.