He primarily focused on currency issues, the German banking crisis, the impact of reparations payments, and the prevalent mass unemployment of the time.
Wilhelm Röpke reported a meeting between Lautenbach and Adolf Hitler in the early summer of 1933 regarding state credit expansion.
"[13] In 1944, Lautenbach reflected on the challenges of achieving full employment, particularly for an open economy engaged in trade and the exchange of goods with other countries.
[14] Lautenbach strongly criticized the background of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when it was established, alongside the World Bank, in Bretton Woods in 1944.
He suggested that the shift from Keynes' plan to the creation of the currency fund indicated that the United States was unwilling to relinquish the exploitation of its financial power.