Abstract
Abstract The German war economy suffered from resource shortages during WWI because the Allies were able to block imports with its naval blockade. Coal was more or less the only natural resource relevant to the war economy which was available domestically and in abundance. Therefore, authorities were hardly concerned with the supply of coal when the war broke out. As the war lasted longer than expected, even the coal ran short. This article examines the measures adopted by the authorities to secure the supply of energy for the military, the war economy and households. On the one hand, the authorities relied on the syndicated marketing organization of the coal cartels. On the other hand, the Prussian state was itself a major coal producer in the Ruhr which was not part of the Ruhr Coal Syndicate and competed with the cartelized privately owned mining companies.
Published Version
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