In the fall of 1922, the Germans asked the Allies for a moratorium on the reparations payments that they were required to pay according to the Versailles Treaty (from World War I). The French government refused the request and occupied the Ruhr, the integral industrial area of Germany, when the Germans defaulted on their payments. The French occupation united the German people to act against the occupation by staging a general strike. The German government supported the workers by giving them financial support. Inflation increased exponentiall ....