The Explorers' Club, № CMLXXXVIII

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars—The Occupation of the Ruhr, Part II
21 October-28 November 1923: The Rhenish Republic—A Free & Independent Rhenish Republic was declared in Aachen; separatists stormed town halls throughout the Rhineland, supported by French & Belgian occupational forces; when separatist violence became more widespread & chaotic, the French & Belgians stomped it out; Rhenish leaders Josef Matthes & Adam Dorten fled to France.

Commentary: Both before & after the Rhenish Republic, Konrad Adenauer, the Mayor of Cologne from 1917-1933 (& best known as the Chancellor of West Germany from 1949-1963), argued for a greater degree of autonomy from Berlin for the Rhineland, though he opposed the violent Rhenish separatists.

Lest we forget.