Ruhr Territory (Twilight of a New Era)

The Ruhr Territory, along the Territory of the Saar Basin, was created by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920. Although under a League of Nations (LoN) mandate, it is under French and Belgian economic influence. The later has a form of war payment and to cripple economically Germany. Being the former key industrial zone of Germany, there have been calls for its return to the Federal Republic of Germany. The proposal of an International Authority for the Ruhr by the LoN has not been widely accepted by France and Germany. The Ruhr and Saar Question has also been one of the reasons for the breakdown of the Conference on European Unity.

Economy
Ruhr's coal industry is directly administered by France and Belgian. The steel mills, metal manufacturing, energy production, machine and tool building and automotive industry are in hands of German companies (Krupp, Thyssen, RWE, Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, Hoesch AG and Mannesmann) and cartels. The Commission of Government has repeatedly rejected the demands of France and Belgian to have more control of them. The armament building facilities have been dismantled.