Roseman, Mark (1987) New miners in the Ruhr : rebuilding the workforce in the Ruhr mines, 1945-1958. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

In 1945, the Ruhr pits faced enormous gaps in the workforce as a result of
wartime losses and pre-war difficulties in recruiting young labour. Regenerating
the workforce was the key to reviving Ruhr coal production and thus to German
and Western European economic recovery. Between 1945 and the onset of the
coal crisis in 1958, the Ruhr mines were to hire over a million men. Using
archival materials, private papers, contemporary printed sources and
interviews, the thesis analyses the measures undertaken to win new labour for
the Ruhr and the attempts to turn the newcomers into productive and settled
miners.
After an introductory section, the study looks at the degree to which workforce
regeneration was achieved in the pre-currency reform era. The underlying
theme is that the pre-1948 economy proved in many ways to be an uncontrolled
economy. Despite the enormous priority given to the task, the British initially
failed to rebuild the workforce. With US help, they achieved a breakthrough in
1946-47, but the enterprise remained extremely costly and inefficient. These
problems resulted from weaknesses inherent in any controlled economy but
also from tensions and contradictions in British and later Bipartite rule.
The second half of the thesis considers the policies of the 1948-58 period and
argues that they were just as unsuccessful in regenerating the mining workforce.
Neither a stable nor a compliant workforce was created and in desperation the
industry began to turn to foreign labour. One reason for failure was the Federal
Government's slowness in responding to the mines' need for housing
investment. Another reason was that the established management style in the
Ruhr mines alienated many newcomers. The employers' attitudes to
management, integration and the labour market were stuck in a pre-war mould.
This study contributes to our understanding of a number of different features of
the reconstruction, notably the origins and limitations of the 'economic
miracle', the impact of and response to the enormous population mobility after
the war and the hopes and fears with which Germany's bourgeoisie entered the
post-war era. Ultimately, however, the theme running through the study is the
enormous and unique challenge that faced any organisation trying to create a
stable and productive workforce in the mines.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DD Germany H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Coal mines and mining -- Germany -- Ruhr -- History -- 20th century, Coal miners -- Employment -- Germany -- History -- 20th century, Labor supply -- Germany -- History -- 20th century, Ruhr (Germany : Region) -- History -- 20th century
Official Date:	December 1987
Dates:	Date Event December 1987 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Social History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Berghahn, Volker R. (Volker Rolf), 1938-
Sponsors:	Social Science Research Council (Great Britain) ; Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) ; Leverhulme Trust ; German Historical Institute in London ; University of Aston in Birmingham
Extent:	486 leaves
Language:	eng

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