the Reich "Law for the Protection of the Republic" (), which was strongly supported by the Prussian government, Interior Minister Severing banned the Nazi Party in Prussia on 15 November 1922. Crisis year 1923 Prussian territory was directly affected when troops from France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr on 11 January 1923 after Germany defaulted on its war reparations payments, although the main decisions on how to react were made at the Reich level. Immediately before the occupation, the Prussian Parliament – with the exception of the Communist Party – protested against the actions of the French and Belgians. At the same time, the population of the Rhineland and Westphalia was called on to exercise prudence. The Prussian government ultimately supported the passive resistance called for by the Reich. Prussian officials were instructed not to obey the orders of the occupiers. It quickly became apparent, however, that the economic burden caused by the situation was becoming enormous. The trend toward inflation that had existed since World War I exploded into the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic. Domestically, the crisis strengthened radical forces. After a number of violent acts by right-wing militants, Interior Minister Severing banned the German Völkisch Freedom Party (, DVFP), despite the reservations of the Reich government. Nationalists sharply attacked Severing in public and in the state Parliament, but overall Parliament backed him by a large majority. Ending the struggle against the occupation of the Ruhr (which occurred on 26 September 1923) was necessary before currency reform could be carried out in the Reich. The still occupied Rhineland, however, was excluded from the introduction of the new Rentenmark on 16 November 1923. This spurred the regional separatists to action. A Rhenish Republic was proclaimed in various cities, but it met with little response from the population. By the end of the year, secession of the Rhineland and Westphalia had failed. The major political crises of 1923, such as Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in Bavaria and the attempt at a communist revolution, the so-called "German October" in central Germany, took place outside Prussia. Reich Chancellor Gustav Stresemann (DVP) described the Prussia of the 1923 crisis period as the "bulwark of German republicans". Transitional cabinet of Wilhelm Marx At the beginning of 1924 there were increasing signs that the grand coalition's common ground had been lost. On 5 January the DVP demanded that the DNVP be brought into the