jan 11, 1923 - France invades the Ruhr

Description:

The reparations set out in the Treaty of Versailles were too much for Germany. Many of its wealth-earning areas had been lost, and its gold reserves had all been used in the war.

By December 1922, it had defaulted on its reparations payments and failed to send coal from the Ruhr to France as it was supposed to. However, France needed the payments so that they could pay back their loans from the USA.

Therefore, the French invaded the Ruhr. They confiscated raw materials, goods and machinery. The German government told the workers to go on strike, but the French arrested the strikers and brought in their own workers.

The impact of the occupation was:
- the German people resented the French
- the German people resented Weimar's failure to resist the French
- debts increased
- unemployment increased
- the shortage of goods was increased
- inflation

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