Besides trying to pop the stock market bubble, the Fed made little or no effort to protect the banking system from depositor runs and panics. Most seriously, it permitted a severe deflation in the price level, which drove real interest rates sky-high and greatly increased the pressure on debtors.
A programme which in many countries of this world is regarded as a sensible instrument in the arsenal of a central bank is, for historical, economic, political and legal reasons, the target of fundamental criticisms in Germany.