Abstract

The coal crisis in the Ruhr Valley, also known as “the death of the coal mines,” started in 1957–58, when German coal became increasingly expensive, and the federal government cut mining subsidies. Due to falling world market prices, crude oil replaced coal as an energy source for heating private households, causing a massive slump in demand for coal. These developments led to the decline of the coal and steel industry in North Rhine-Westphalia. This photograph shows an unemployed man in front of the shaft tower of a decommissioned coal mine in Gelsenkirchen. Photo by Kurt Rohwedder.

Decommissioned Coal Mine (1967)

  • Kurt Rohwedder

Source

Source: An unemployed miner in front of the pit frame of a decommissioned mine in Gelsenkirchen, February 18, 1967. Photo: Kurt Rohwedder.
bpk-Bildagentur, image number 30004174. For rights inquiries, please contact Art Resource at requests@artres.com (North America) or bpk-Bildagentur at kontakt@bpk-bildagentur.de (for all other countries).

© bpk / Kurt Rohwedder