Reich Ministry for the Occupied Territories
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The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Territories (German: Reichsministerium für die besetzten Gebiete) was a cabinet-level ministry of the Weimar Republic from 24 August 1923 to 30 September 1930. It was responsible for the administration of both the Rhineland region occupied by the Allies under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and of the Ruhr after it was occupied by the French and Belgians in January 1923. The Ministry is not to be confused with Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories that existed under the National Socialists.
In December 1918, French, Belgian and British troops occupied parts of the Rhineland and neighboring areas in Hesse, Hesse-Nassau and the Palatinate. The Treaty of Versailles, which came into effect on 10 January 1920, defined the left bank of the Rhine and the bridgeheads of Cologne, Koblenz and Mainz as an Allied zone of occupation.[1] As a result of disputes over German reparations payments required by the Treaty, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in January 1923.[2]