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Could Germany still run factories in the Rhineland after demilitarisation?

Could Germany still run the factories in the Rhineland after demilitarisation (post Treaty of Versailles) or were they forbidden completely?

Reply 1

Koalifications

Original post by milan_tom

Could Germany still run the factories in the Rhineland after demilitarisation (post Treaty of Versailles) or were they forbidden completely?

Yes, they could do this. When the Rhineland was demilitarised as part of the Treaty of Versailles, it simply meant that the German forces could not be placed into the Rhineland - this was because the Rhineland acted as a natural barrier between France and Germany, and France (who felt threatened by Germany) demilitarised the Rhineland so that if Germany decided to invade France, they couldn't move straight into France: they would have to move through the Rhineland, which was being occupied by French soldiers. However, civilians who lived in the Rhineland (which was Germany land) could still live there and run factories.

Reply 2

Conniestitution

Yes, but keep in mind the Saar Coalfields (or Saarland), which was full of factories, was taken off them in the Treaty of Versailles so they didn’t profit off of those factories until the land voted to rejoin Germany