An exhibition in Strasbourg commemorates 100 years of the occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium

“Ruhrbesetzung 1923: France occupies the industrial heart of the Reich” is a French adaptation of two German exhibitions on view until March 8. An exhibition which highlights a little-known episode from after the First World War.

The result of a Franco-German collaboration, bringing together the two main exhibitions of the Ruhr Museum in Essen and the Historical Institute of Recklinghausen, dedicated to the centenary of the occupation of the Ruhr in 2023, this event has been specially adapted for the French public by the European Community of Alsace. Until 8 March, Ruhrbesetzung 1923 : France occupies the industrial heart of the Reich explores this key moment in history.

Occupied Germany after the First War

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles imposed heavy sanctions on Germany. In response to delays in paying war reparations, France and Belgium militarily occupied the Ruhr to access vital steel and coal resources. Anxious not to appear as the economic loser of the global conflict, France decides to act on the ground two and a half years.

This occupation causes tensions, a German opposition which feels humiliated and frustrated and fuels nationalism and racism with virulent anti-French propaganda. In response, the German government decreed unemployment in the region. This massive unemployment will be fatal since it accelerates the economic crisis and favors the rise of Adolf Hitler who attempts a putsch to overthrow power. Despite the withdrawal of occupying troops in 1925, Germany faced a severe economic and social crisis, ultimately leading to Hitler’s accession to power in 1933, thus precipitating World War II.

A little-known chapter

The Alsatians, integrated into the French army, played an intermediary role between the two peoples, German and French. Their presence was sometimes viewed with suspicion by the German authorities, aware of their capacity to influence the German populations and to ease tensions exacerbated by false propaganda. It is through these little-known people, but with a crucial role, that Peter Geiger, retired historian, shares this facet of French history with his grandson. It highlights the paradox of the situation where, “although France was victorious, proportionately, it may have suffered more economically than Germany, which was gradually recovering“.

Until 8 March, lThe Alsace Archives in Strasbourg welcome the exhibition “Ruhrbesetzung 1923 : France occupies the industrial heart of the Reich” Tuesday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays, by reservation, with the possibility of a guided tour for groups of 5 minimum people.