An Introduction to what happened before the Invasion of Ruhr.
After World war 1 and before the invasion of the
Ruhr the Treaty of Versailles (TOV) was enforced (1919). This treaty mostly
focused on having Germany surrender after causing a great extend of damage
throughout World War 1. Before Germany signed the treaty, which forced them to
'cease fire' and 'surrender' their population was starving. Through this
Germany was forced to sign. By signing Germany had to give in to the
conditions, which were harsh due to the anti-German atmosphere at this point.
The French Prime Minister, George Clemenceau showed the most hatred against the
Germans due to the fact that his country had suffered a great deal throughout
World War 1. Their economy was devastated, and there had been a high loss of
industrial regions and of course an extensive amount of deaths. The 'Tiger'
wanted the Germans to be crippled so that they could not attack the French.
However George Clemenceau was not the only power deciding the terms of the TOV.
In the end through signing the treaty the Germans were blamed for the war
(article 231), they were forced to pay 2/3 of the Reparations (Article
232), they could not have more than 100 000 soldiers and an air force and
finally Germany lost 100% of its colonies and 13% of its own land (Territory).
[9]
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| Although this picture is bias, by making viewers think that the reparations were to much for the Germans (from the Germans point of view) the picture resembles what the world wanted from the Germans. The picture identifies that the anti-German atmosphere was indeed strong and how the world wanted to punish the Germans. Reparations-Comic. N.d. N.p. http://pimpjclark.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/reparations-treaty-of-versailles3.jpg |
By having to pay 2/3 of the Reparations Germany was
in doubt even though they could pay in kinds (goods) and not only money. The
Germans tried to pay off the $33 billion with coal as they had the Ruhr industry. [5] However by 1922 the defaults on payments had
grown so large that the French and Belgium's used the seizure of the Ruhr as a
way of encouragement, as the Ruhr accounted for 3/4 of Germany's steel and coal
production. In 1922 Germany declared that they simply could not pay. Through
this both the French and the British came to believe that a form or several
forms of strong action were needed to teach the Germans a lesson. In addition
Raymond Poincaré (the new French Prime minister) and France wanted to weaken
Germany's economy as well as boost their own as they also had reparations to
pay. France's steel production was also draining away and France
was scared for their security as the Anglo-American guarantee was denied.[1]However France, who was a senior member of
the league of nations would be breaking the league's rules if it were to
invade.
The league of Nations
These rules had been agreed by not only the French
but an international body whose soul purpose was to keep world peace. This
international body had been given the name; the league of Nations and its aim's
were to; stop war, improve peoples lives and jobs, disarmament and enforce the
TOV. The rules or the powers, which the French would be disobeying if
they invade were; the power of covenant (all league member agreed to
keep the peace), the power of condemnation (the league could tell a
country it was doing wrong), Arbitration (the league could decide
between two countries) and Sanctions (to stop trade). The power
covenant, in which all league members agreed to keep the piece would be
directly disobeyed by two league members through the invasion. Not only France,
a major country in the league but Belgium would not keep the piece, in fact
they started a conflict, which also went against the league's aims. On the
other hand France believed that if Germany could get away with the
reparations or lower them then Germany could dismantle the other terms of the
TOV, which once again disobeyed the league's aims. The major issue was that the
league could not stop France and belgium as France and Belgium had the power to
go against the league due to the fact that the league had no real physical
power (army). Additionally the league needed the support of its major participants(this
included France) and if France were to invade it would prove to the other
nations that if you wanted to break the rules you could. [6]
The Invasion of the Ruhr. (1923-1925) (What the French did) and Passive Resistance (germany's response)
 |
| A poster from 1923 displaying a German protesting. The picture explains the passive resistance, before President Ebert instructed workers to go on strike. Although the French had deadly weapons, there Germans did not seem as scared as they should be. They did not jump back at the sight of the French, and walked with their hands in their pockets to the destination they wanted to go to. "Occupation of the Ruhr." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Ruhr>. |
In
the end the league of Nations had no way to stop France and belgium from
invading. The only obstacle, which dragged out the start of the invasion was
the vote from the reparations committee which allowed the French and Belgium
soldiers to invade the Ruhr due to the defaults in coal deliveries (the vote
was given on the 9th of January). Then on the 11th of January the
soldiers invaded. [5]
Instantly Chancellor
Wilhelm Cuno, became troubled, and the Weimar ministers declared the invasion
as a deliberate act of French aggression and that they (the Germans) could not
defend themselves due to the fact the the TOV had taken everything from them. [5] Germans rose to the
streets protesting (first day of protests occurred on the day of the invasion).
Through the invasion the German government informed the whole region of their
plan. Newspapers such as the “Allgemeine Zeitung” ‘advertised’ the
passive resistance. As the government created awareness about the issue the
(nonviolent) fight started to take off [3]. The railroad industry refused to
cooperate, and the coal industries moved to Hamburg in order to protect files
from the occupiers. This led to he French having to use its military to
punish the rebels and to take over the railroad systems. They arrested five
major coal company owners and commenced trials against them. [5] Once again thousands of Germans rose to
the streets outside of the courthouse. They attempted to use this opportunity
to condemn the invasion, but all attempts failed. [5] All the Germans could do was support the
rebels, which were sabotaging the railroads such as Albert Schlagater,
who was one of these rebels, serving the Freikorps. He however was caught and sentenced to death like all other German rebels
were[3]. The French, who had a much stronger military sealed of the
Ruhr from the rest of the Germans, obstructing the Germans from any further
sabotage. They frog-marched 150 000 civilians and non-essential workers out of
the area. And in the end killed 130 German civilians (through death sentence)
who had either rebelled against the invasion or they had been in
their(French) way. Additionally the industrial labour remained in the
Ruhr, unable to escape (prevented from leaving). By July the French had managed
to set up an 'exclusion zone', restricting traffic in and out of the Ruhr. This
'exclusion zone' made sabotage difficult and through the death sentencing of
several Germans the Weimar government decided they had to act, but in a
different manner.
The link below is a one minute clip, which first gives a revision of how the Invasion of the Ruhr started, but then a German citizen, who was a resident of the Ruhr in 1923 describes what it was like being under the French control and how the French handled them. Of course the woman's opinion is partially biased as she herself is German and stands up for her own people. The movie gives an idea in what a situation the Germans were in (French mishandled them) and the movie makes it easier to understand the next stage of the Invasion of the Ruhr (the hyperinflation).
Hyperinflation.
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| Picture number 1: The pictures above represent how worthless banknotes were in Germany throughout the Hyperinflation. Both pictures display an everyday activity where we would normally use rubbish, or useless resources. However money is being used. This tells us that a few bank notes were rubbish at that time.
Hyperinflation. N.d. N.p. https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-GLRSVZ6YhHw/ TXKXm0pi5EI/AAAAAAAAA7c/e_CJxobZYf4/s1600/germany2.jpg
Picture number 2: A graph showing how Germany's moneys value decreased (how much one gold mark was equal too in paper marks)throughout the years.
Hyperinflation- Comparison. N.d. N.p.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/GermanyHyperChart.jpg/480px-GermanyHyperChart.jpg
|
Through this policy the hyperinflation started
(1923), but by september the striking was called of by Gustav Stresseman
(chancellor) due to the high unemployment and the hyperinflation. Gustav Stresseman introduced a new currency to the Germans. He replace the old mark by the new Rentenmark (3 billion old marks was equal to one Rentenmark) At the
peak of the inflation one American dollar was equal to 13 trillion marks. [2]
The link below is a 3 minute video in which the
hyperinflation is briefed on, and then groceries and different types of goods
are listed in Germany, where the prices were raised dramatically due to the
lack in money. Simple groceries such as bread would be more worth than a large
box of money. Then the video goes onto the cause, and finally what effect this
had on the people such as death. Many people starved, and lived under terrible
living conditions during the hyperinflation, that Germany finally had to call
of the strikes.
Continuing on from the Hyperinflation
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| Rhenish Republic ( the three territories). Here is a visual representation of what the French did in order to control the Germans and how helpless this made the Germans. The French split Germany into 3 sections, breaking apart Germany. Through this the French believed they could control the Germans, which they ended up doing, but not for long. Ruhr-Occupation. N.d. N.p.
http://www.aldridgeschool.org/humanities/
wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Rhur-occupation.jpg |
Even though the striking had been called of,
Germany was still in a state of emergency and aong its borders reigned the
hyperinflation. This led to continuos civil unrest, in which riots targeted the
Weimar government such as in the Beer Hall Putsch(Hitler and riots when to
the streets). By October (1923) the French and Belgium troops enforced the
Rhenish Republic. This split Germany into three territories; North, south and
Ruhr. By 1924 The French had successfully made the Germans pay, but Germany had
gained the world's sympathy. This sympathy for Germany and economical problems
pressured the French into agreeing with the Dawes plan (April 1924). The
sympathy came a large deal from the Americans and the British (part of the
league of nations), which indicated that countries involved in the league of
Nations had different views of how to solve problems. [9]
The dawes plan lowered the reparation payments, starting with 1
billion mark in 1924, then rising until the payment per year was at 2.25
billion in 1927. [9] [10] America also loaned 800million marks to the Germans, By lowering the reparations the TOV was
partially damaged as Germany's payment was lowered, and they did not have to
pay it all at once. On the other side through the more controlled environment Germany was able to let their economy heal. Stressemaan then built 3 million houses. Once again the league of Nations was impacted, as mentioned
previously as the aims had been disobeyed. Then after the French had agreed to
this payment they left Germany in 1925 (August) after they had delayed their leave by about one year (they were supposed to leave in April 1924).
Below is a link to a pdf, which displays a primary
source (typed up). The primary source is a newspaper from within the Invasion
of Ruhr, which is completely focused on the German's perspective of the
invasion. In the first to second page the newspaper informs readers of what the
French have done and how the Germans are responding to taxes, and forced
labour. The newspaper cites other newspapers such as the 'Berlin Zeit' who is
amused by the fact that the French will not be receiving any coal due to the
strike. One quote even says the France has 'smashed the dictates of
Versailles', and the France should not be using guns to step out of their
despair, but to find other tactics. The newspaper displays maps and comics,
which only encourage the Germans opinion. The newspaper is bias, but it boldens
the Germans despair at this point in time.
Bibliography
[1]
League of Nations.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/leagueofnations.htm
[2]
"Invasion of the Ruhr." - Key Stage 3. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb.
2014.
<http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-nazi-rise-to-power/the-weimar-republic/invasion-of-the-ruhr/#.UvylUf1mhg0>.
[3]
"Weimar Germany." Weimar Germany. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar.
2014. <http://alphahistory.com/weimargermany/ruhr-occupation/>.
[4]
"France Occupies the Ruhr 1923 - Inter-war Period: Causes of WWII." France
Occupies the Ruhr 1923 - Inter-war Period: Causes of WWII. N.p., n.d Web.
09 Mar. 2014.
<http://inter-wars.weebly.com/france-occupies-the-ruhr-1923.html>.
[5]
"Germans Defend Ruhr Valley from French Invasion (Ruhrkampf),
1923-1924." Global Nonviolent Action Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Mar. 2014. <http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/germans-defend-ruhr-valley-french-invasion-ruhrkampf-1923-1924>.
[6]
To What Extent Was the Failure and Collapse of the League of Nations the Cause
of the Second World War? Uahsibhistory, n.d. Web.
<http://uahsibhistory.wikispaces.com/To+what+extent+was+the+failure+and+collapse+of+the+League+of+Nations+the+cause+of+the+Second+World+War%3F>.
[7]
"Occupation
of the Ruhr." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Mar. 2014.
Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Ruhr>.
[8]"World War I: Treaties and
Reparations." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United
States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007428>.
[9] "Hyperinflation and Weimar
Germany." Hyperinflation and Weimar Germany. N.p., n.d. Web. 05
Apr. 2014.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/hyperinflation_weimar_germany.htm>.
[10]"The Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, German
Reparations, and Inter-allied War Debts - 1921–1936 - Milestones - Office of the
Historian." The Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, German Reparations, and
Inter-allied War Debts - 1921–1936 - Milestones - Office of the Historian.
N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
<https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/dawes>.
Ruhr-Occupation. N.d. N.p.
http://www.aldridgeschool.org/humanities/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Rhur-occupation.jpg
Hyperinflation. N.d. N.p.
Reparations-Comic. N.d. N.p.
Hyperinflation-
Comparison. N.d. N.p.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/GermanyHyperChart.jpg/480px-GermanyHyperChart.jpg
