In this anonymous note, officials at the French Foreign Office consider the political motivations and the economic consequences of the implementation of a system of international control for the Ruhr.

On 9 May 1946, Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, sends a letter to André Clasen, Luxembourg Ambassador to London, in which he outlines the attitude of the Luxembourg Government concerning the future status of the Ruhr.

On 15 May 1946, a summary record of the Council of Foreign Ministers outlines the negotiations on the German question and the Ruhr.

On 28 July 1946, one year after the end of the Second World War, the Metz-based Communist weekly newspaper Le Patriote Mosellan speculates on the possible solutions to the problem of controlling the industrial power of the Ruhr and criticises the Anglo-American policies in this area.

In 1946, Pathé Journal (Paris) describes the economic and military importance of the extremely prosperous industrial area of the Ruhr. The strategic importance of this region leads the United States, the United Kingdom, the Benelux countries and France to set up an International Authority for the Ruhr (IAR) in 1949 to monitor the production and sale of steel, coal and coke from the region.

On 4 February 1947, the German daily newspaper Die Weltspeculates on France’s intentions regarding the issue of the control of the Ruhr’s industrial potential.

On 4 August 1947, British cartoonist David Low illustrates France’s concern at the proposal from the military governor of the US zone in Germany, Lucius D. Clay, to raise the level of German steel industry in the Bizone (the British and US occupation zones, merged on 1 January 1947). Two years after the end of the Second World War, France particularly fears a revival of the Ruhr’s industrial power. From left to right: Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary, and Georges Bidault, French Foreign Minister.

On 16 August 1947, the French weekly newspaper Une semaine dans le monde expresses its concern at the United States’ decision to raise the level of coal and steel production in the Ruhr and fears a reorganisation of Western Europe based on German industrial production.

On 12 June 1948, the German daily newspaper Kölnische Rundschau emphasises the importance of the industrial potential of the Ruhr for the economic recovery of West Germany and for European industry as a whole.

‘… under protest from the French, on 10 November 1948 the Ruhr agreement is concluded … and passes into German trusteeship …’ On 13 November 1948, German cartoonist Ernst Maria Lang illustrates the decision by the British and American authorities of the Bizone to adopt a decree — Law No 75 — on the reorganisation and deconcentration of the steel and mining industries of the Ruhr. France, once again unhappy at being presented with a fait accompli, reiterates that it cannot accept giving a future German Government the right to settle the question of ownership of the Ruhr industries. Under the benevolent gaze of the United States (Uncle Sam), driving the ‘Ruhr’ car, the little ‘German Michel’ has got in the front seat so that it can take hold of the reins, while the two passengers, France (Marianne) and the United Kingdom (John Bull), are wary of the new role that has been given to West Germany.

On 11 November 1948, the Head of the French delegation at the London Conference, Hervé Alphand, expresses concern at the repercussions of Law 75 on the regulation and management of the distribution of the Ruhr’s coal, coke and steel.

On 19 November 1948, the French Foreign Ministry sends a note to Baron Jules Guillaume, Belgian Ambassador to Paris, to protest against Law No 75, published on 10 November by the US and British military authorities without prior consultation of France, which determines a new status for the coal and steel industry of the Ruhr area.

In its November–December 1948 issue, the Metz Communist weekly Le Patriote Mosellan harshly criticises the decision taken by the United States and the United Kingdom to give the Germans the right to settle the question of ownership of the Ruhr's steel and mining industries.

Table showing the monthly steel output in Germany in 1948 (in thousand tonnes).

On 19 November 1948, Baron Hervé de Gruben, Director-General of Policy at the Belgian Foreign Ministry, clarifies the positions of Belgium and France on the monitoring and export of coal, coke and steel from the Ruhr, as well as on the activities of the International Authority for the Ruhr (IAR).

On 15 March 1949, the representatives of the metalworkers’ and miners’ trade unions in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands adopt a resolution examining the organisation of the Ruhr industrial basin.

En 1948, l'ancien leader socialiste français Léon Blum, opposé au morcellement de l'Allemagne, suggère la socialisation du bassin minier et la création d'une "organisation européenne du charbon et de l'acier" en réponse au problème de la Ruhr.

On 26 July 1949, Konrad Adenauer writes to Robert Schuman to warn him of the harmful consequences of dismantling German factories, as demanded by the Allies.

Despite the Allied bombings and the massive destruction suffered by the Ruhr Basin during the Second World War, West Germany manages to return rapidly to its pre-war production levels.

After the Second World War, workers in the Ruhr demonstrate against the dismantling of their factories by the Allied forces of occupation.

The dismantling of the Hoeder Smelting iron and steel plants ordered by the Allies provokes anger and incomprehension among German workers who brandish placards reading ‘We want to work, we will help you to rebuild Europe’ and ‘We appeal to Fifth Avenue. Our labour provides a livelihood for the families of 8 000 workers who are begging for bread’.

Map showing the Ruhr’s economic power, based on its mines and heavy industry.

On 11 May 1950, the French daily newspaper Le Monde gives an account of production at the German collieries situated in the Ruhr basin in the late 1940s.