<P> The Germans left Belgium stripped and barren . They shipped machinery to Germany while destroying factories . After the atrocities of the first few weeks, German civil servants took control and were generally correct, albeit strict and severe . There was no violent resistance movement, but there was a large - scale spontaneous passive resistance of a refusal to work for the benefit of German victory . Belgium was heavily industrialized; while farms operated and small shops stayed open, most large establishments shut down or drastically reduced their output . The faculty closed the universities; publishers shut down most newspapers . Most Belgians "turned the four war years into a long and extremely dull vacation, says Kiossmann . </P> <P> Neutrals led by the United States set up the Commission for Relief in Belgium, headed by American engineer Herbert Hoover . It shipped in large quantities of food and medical supplies, which it tried to reserve for civilians and keep out of the hands of the Germans . Many businesses collaborated with the Germans, and some women cohabitated with them . They were treated roughly in a wave of popular violence in November and December 1918 . The government set up judicial proceedings to punish the collaborators . In 1919 the king organized a new ministry and introduced universal male suffrage . The Socialists--mostly poor workers--benefited more than the more middle class Catholics and Liberals . </P> <P> Rubber had long been the main export; production levels held up but its importance fell from 77% of exports (by value) to only 15% . New resources were opened, especially copper mining in Katanga province . The British - owned Union Miniere company dominated the copper industry; it used a direct rail line to the sea at Beira . The war caused a heavy demand for copper, production soared from 997 tons in 1911 to 27,000 tons in 1917, then fell off to 19,000 tons in 1920 . Smelters operated at Lubumbashi; before the war copper was sold to Germany; the British purchased all the wartime output, with the revenues going to the Belgian government in exile . Diamond and gold mining expanded during the war . The British firm of Lever Bros. greatly expanded the palm oil business during the war, and there was an increased output of cocoa, rice and cotton . New rail and steamship lines opened to handle the expanded export traffic . </P> <P> Many French intellectuals welcomed the war to avenge the humiliation of defeat and loss of territory to Germany following the Franco - Prussian War of 1871 . Only one major figure, novelist Romain Rolland retained his pacifist internationalist values; he went to Switzerland . After Socialist leader Jean Jaurès, a pacifist, was assassinated at the start of the war, the French socialist movement abandoned its antimilitarist positions and joined the national war effort . Prime Minister Rene Viviani called for unity--for a "Union sacrée" ("Sacred Union"); France had few dissenters . </P>

What was the home front like during ww1