Year Of Crises Flashcards
French invasion of the Rurh
The reparations bill was set in 1921 but the Germans were not happy about it. They were unable to pay the high amount. If they didn’t France and Belgium might invade. The Germans could not pay the second instalment and the French invaded the Ruhr valley as it was the the richest area. In response to this, the government told the workers to go on strike or out up ‘passive resistance’. The French also set fire to buildings(killing 13 but wounding more) and expelled people from the Ruhr.
Hyperinflation
As more money is printed, the money reduces in price. However, due to the Passive resistance in the Ruhr, the richest part of Germany was no longer producing goods so the rest of Germany suffered too. In addition the people who were being expelled from the Ruhr had yo be provided for by the government. To solve this, the government printed large amounts of money. This only made things worse because the more money the government printed, the faster prices went up until 1923 became the year of hyperinflation and the money became worthless.
The effect: on payday people would throw money out of the windows so their waiting family could rush to the shops to buy necessary items before the prices went up again.
What were the three main events in the year of crises?
French invasion of the Rurh
Hyperinflation
The Munich putsch
