Essen     


- The time of World War I





The overall mobilization:

On August 1. 1918 an overall mobilization was ordered for the whole country of Germany. The message to the mayor of Essen read literally:
"Mobilization ordered. First day of Mobilization 2. August. This order to be made public immediately."
The reason for this was the declaration of war by Emperor William II. on Russia. In the first days and weeks, when the suffering of the war was yet far away, a kind of war hysteria predominated in Essen and in the other towns of the Ruhr area. The crowd of volunteers was so immense that the authorities had to supply extra rooms. Songs to encourage the soldiers were sung at school.


The armaments industry of Essen:

After initial success the progress of the German army came to an end. Huge human and material resources were needed. This lead to a rise in orders for the largest German armaments company, Krupp. During the years of the war the profits of the company almost tripled. However, due to the overall mobilization there was not enough workforce available, which was why ar prisoners had to do the work. The percentage of working women also increased remarkably.


Hunger and Suffering:

In 1916 the citizens began to feel the consequences of war. Money and food became rare. It was necessary to found so-called war kitchens in Essen. In 1916 about 10% of the population had to make use of this instituion. In 1917 the lack of food reached a low point. Symptons of deficiency also showed in other sectors. For example, in 1917 the schools in Essen were closed for months due to a lack of coal. Even after an armistice was signed on 11. November 1918 there was still an enormous need of food and other goods.