prosperity, warmth and well-being thanks to coke and coal after the war, the Ruhgebiet the energy supplier to the Nation. The mining industry is a sought-after employer. But then the crisis comes. A Review.
After the war, coal is scarce. The demand is huge, in the factories, as well as in the population. The Ruhr was the Pits at that time, each ton of coal out of the hands of torn. “All people will know that you need the coal. All know, Europe has to be rebuilt – and this is only possible with coal,” says the economic historian Franz-Josef Brüggemeier, looking back. The Ruhr region is the largest coal area of Europe, the energy supplier to the Nation. The steel industry, the chemical industry, the railway, is in need of almost any factory, coal for their energy.
coal mining underground
The mining industry is at this time a sought after employer, despite the harsh and often life-threatening activity. The great period of German coal has seen Werner Korean. “I was in 1946 the first Scarce after the war, has made his examination, with the age of 16. “
600,000 people in 170 Collieries
The Mines to pay top wages. In 1957, work on the Ruhr, the Saar and in the Aachen area, a total of more than 600,000 people at more than 170 coal Mines. Coal and coke delivered warmth and well-being.
However, the industry overestimated the demand. Fuel oil is used for the customers is always cheaper. At the same time the Federal railway rises from steam locomotives to Diesel and electric drive. By the end of the 1950s, each of the second mine works almost at the Ruhr no longer cost-covering. Who can, announces. After all, who is young, finds in the economic miracle in the country for a new Job.
