jan 11, 1923 - Ruhr Occupation begins

Description:

the Allies, who knew that Germany was facing an economic crisis, demanded the Germans pay the reperations in kind (by physically transporting coal and iron across the border),

at some point, however, the Germans said they can't afford to pay even in kind,
so they stopped paying all together

in retaliation the French and Belgian armies stepped into the Ruhr (Germany's most industralized region, full of coal, part of the demilitarized Rhineland) and started loading coal onto the trains themselves

in protest against this the German workers of the Ruhr organized a mass strike
(passive resistance),
the Ruhr economy stopped functioning,

but the Berlin government supported this,
so they paid the protesting workers,
but to keep this up they needed to print more money

this led from inflation to hyperinflation

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