Ruhr Community

On This Day - 100 Years Ago

March 20, 1923 #OTD A representative for the German Ministry of Finance said that hyperinflation and the occupation of the Ruhr had made it impossible to manage the country's finances, with the budget for 1922–23 showing a deficit of 7.1 trillion (7,100,000,000,000) marks. Pictured: A basement of... read more

On This Day in History - March 5, 1943

March 5, 1943 #OTD World War II: British bombers attacked Krupp works at Essen, Germany; this was the Allies' first attack on this industrial region, which started what the Allies called the Battle of the Ruhr. This attack also saw the first successful use of Oboe, an aerial blind bombing... read more

Died On This Day

April 21, 1945 #OTD Walter Model, German field marshal during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. His relative success as commander of the Ninth Army in the retreats of 1941–1942... read more

On This Day in History - January 20, 1923

January 20, 1923 #OTD French occupational authorities in the Ruhr arrested 21 German mine operators and officials as all banks in Essen voluntarily closed.

On This Day in History - March 15, 1923

March 15, 1923 OTD Germany offered 20 billion gold marks to France and Belgium to end the occupation of the Ruhr. Pictured: French soldiers and a German civilian in the Ruhr in 1923.

On This Day in History - March 15, 1920

March 15, 1920 OTD The Ruhr Red Army, a communist paramilitary group of 60,000 men, was formed in Germany. Pictured: Members of the Ruhr Red Army in Dortmund, 1920.