This question is sort of related to the Weimer Republic which I'll go back to.
Germany made it much worse for herself by means of hyperinflation. She was trying to pay the reparations and keep the domestic economy floating. In the end, she could do neither.
Hyperinflation is the act of creating money out of thin air. Pretty soon a million mark note was only printed on one side of a piece of paper. It turns out that the ink was more valuable than what a million mark note would buy. Just so you know 1.67 marks today will buy 1 US dollar, which is pretty good. Certainly 1.67 to one is better than 1000000 to 1 US penny.
The problem with the question you have been asked is that you are comparing apples to oranges. America went through a deflation which means that no one had money enough to buy any goods or services. It is why the central banks today are trying to spend their way out of financial trouble. Apparently no one reads history books to find out what happened in Germany where it was tried there.
Both were bad. Both cause hunger, death starvation in some cases.
Earnest Hemingway once said to the effect that countries first ruin their currencies and then go to war. Both have short term gains but are long term disasters.
I've answered this so extensively because I think you should know what you, as a member of the next generation, will face when you are done with all these studies.
I think the depression in Germany for all that I've written was worse than in the United States. But I wouldn't want to bet on the difference.