Ruhr+Valley

The Ruhr Valley
Student workbook, Wikipedia

**The Ruhr Valley** was an important piece of land to the Germans. After World War I when Germany was forced to sign the **Treaty of Versailles** and pay reparation payments to other countries that were damaged in the war, ex) France, Italy, Britain etc. If they could not pay back all the alloted money that they owed, the Allies would get to take occupation of the Ruhr. By **1922**, the Germans realized that they could not pay back all the reparations ($33 billion plus interest) and the country asked for a **moratorium**, a delay, in paying the money back.

The committee who dealt with the reparation payments included the countries of: Britain, France, Italy and Belgium. They voted a **3:1** vote against the Germans to occupy the territory of the Ruhr. Britain was the single country that did not wan to get involved. In **1923** France and Belgium occupied the land. The Ruhr Vallery supported 80% of all of Germany's coal and steel industries and it was a huge loss for them.

The German workers refused to work while the Allies were in their territory and that decision enivitably let to **hyperinflation**. After that, the whole of Germany's government system fell and the replacement government had no choice but to agree to pay their reparations. The new goverenment was led by a man named **Gustav Stresemann**. Streseman created the **Rentenmark** in hopes of getting the German's out of their post-war depression.

According to the **Dawes Plan,** created by an American banker, Charles Dawes, allied occupation was to end and all forces would be evacuated from the Ruhr. That was his first of five points in order to help Germany out of it's economic failure. He also cut down the dollar amount of reparations and a foreign loan was handed out. By **1925** the Allies were all out of the Ruhr, but Germany was still struggling to pay of it's reparations and b the 1930 introduction of the **Young Plan** the Allies had lost their "last pressure point with which to make Germany pay." (Falk, pg. 20 of the Student Workbook)

Chelsea Birtch (350)