I lived trough the fall of the Eastern bloc. It was a time of great opportunity there. I want one now too now when I am at proper age to take advantage of similar effects. There was no need for hiding in mountains.
And also sometimes the little guys getting a nice revenge on the banks. Case in point: friend bought a house at a relatively high price + mortgage, then hyperinflation happened, said friend paid off the house with one month's worth of salary.
FYI: the banks also borrow money usually, at low rates (see the amount of interest you are getting on your money at your bank), so their real business is the delta between these lower rates and the rates you pay for the mortgage.
so they made money in this transaction as well. its the entity at the top of the debt pyramid that lost money. it was probably the depositors in your case.
My dad did the same. But they didn't really get one over on the banks. For every such mortgage there were 100 people who lost all of their liquid savings. The bankers came out just fine on the other end.
