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Question from Bill |
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Ask a Teacher - History - People and Power - A Question from Bill |
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| Student Name |
Bill |
| Question |
Why did the invasion of Ruhr happen in 1923 and also what were the
effects of this?
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| Answer |
The
invasion of the Ruhr in 1923 was chiefly the result of France's
determination to make sure that Germany paid its reparations in
full (I hope that you are familiar with the terms of the Treaty
of Versailles, signed in 1919). At the end of 1922, the Germans
failed to pay an instalment of reparations on time. France and its
neighbour Belgium reacted quickly, and they occupied the Ruhr region
in western Germany, because it was an important industrial centre.
France wanted to force Germany to pay its overdue reparations instalment,
and make it clear to the Germans that the French would insist that
Germany keeps to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, in future.
The French believed that their own security depended on keeping
Germany weak, since a weakened Germany would not be able to attack
France. The best way to weaken Germany was to insist that the Germans
kept to the terms and conditions of the Treaty of Versailles.
The German government told the workers in the Ruhr not to co-operate
with the French invaders. This meant that most German workers in
the Ruhr went on strike. The German government tried to support
the workers, at a time when one of Germany's most important industrial
centres was at a standstill. The result was that the German government
printed paper banknotes that were worth little more than the paper
they were printed on, since the Ruhr was not producing the goods
that would earn the money that the banknotes were supposed to represent.
In the late autumn of 1923, German banknotes were worthless due
to what is called "hyperinflation". Ask your own teacher about the
effects that hyperinflation had on the German people: some good,
and some bad.
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