Cover of the English version
| |
| Signed | 28 June 1919 |
| Location | Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, Paris, France |
| Effective | 10 January 1920 |
| Condition | Ratification by Germany and three Principal Allied Powers. |
| Signatories |
 Germany |
| Depositary | French Government |
| Languages | French and English |
 Treaty of Versailles at Wikisource | |
The Treaty of Versailles (French: Traité de Versailles) was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which had directly led to the war. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919.
Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important
and controversial required "Germany [to] accept the responsibility of
Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage" during the
war (the other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing
similar articles). This article, Article 231,
later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty required Germany
to disarm, make ample territorial concessions, and pay reparations
to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. In 1921 the
total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks (then
$31.4 billion or £6.6 billion, roughly equivalent to US$442 billion or
UK£284 billion in 2020). At the time economists, notably John Maynard Keynes (a British delegate to the Paris Peace Conference), predicted that the treaty was too harsh—a "Carthaginian peace"—and
said the reparations figure was excessive and counter-productive, views
that, since then, have been the subject of ongoing debate by historians
and economists. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied
side, such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently.
The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals
among the victors was a compromise that left no one satisfied, and, in
particular, Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the Locarno Treaties,
which improved relations between Germany and the other European powers,
and the re-negotiation of the reparation system resulting in the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and the indefinite postponement of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932. The treaty has sometimes been cited as a cause of World War II:
although its actual impact was not as severe as feared, its terms led
to great resentment in Germany which powered the rise of Hitler's Nazis.
Although it is often referred to as the "Versailles Conference",
only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace.
Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the "Big Four" meetings
taking place generally at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Quai d'Orsay.
Background
First World War
Newsreel footage of the signing of the peace treaty at Versailles
On 28 June 1914, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. This caused a rapidly escalating July Crisis resulting in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, followed quickly by the entry of most European powers into the First World War. Two alliances faced off, the Central Powers (led by Germany) and the Triple Entente (led by Britain, France and Russia). Other countries entered as fighting raged widely across Europe, as well as the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 1917, two revolutions occurred within the Russian Empire. The new Bolshevik government under Vladimir Lenin in March 1918 signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
that was highly favourable to Germany. Sensing victory before American
armies could be ready, Germany now shifted force to the Western Front
and tried to overwhelm the Allies. It failed. Instead the Allies won
decisively on the battlefield and forced an armistice in November 1918
that resembled a surrender.
US entry and the Fourteen Points
On 6 April 1917, the United States entered the war against the
Central Powers. The motives were twofold: German submarine warfare
against merchant ships trading with France and Britain, which led to the
sinking of the RMS Lusitania and the loss of 128 American lives; and the interception of the German Zimmermann Telegram, urging Mexico to declare war against the United States.
The American war aim was to detach the war from nationalistic disputes
and ambitions after the Bolshevik disclosure of secret treaties between
the Allies. The existence of these treaties tended to discredit Allied
claims that Germany was the sole power with aggressive ambitions.
On 8 January 1918, President Woodrow Wilson issued the nation's postwar goals, the Fourteen Points. It outlined a policy of free trade, open agreements, and democracy. While the term was not used self-determination
was assumed. It called for a negotiated end to the war, international
disarmament, the withdrawal of the Central Powers from occupied
territories, the creation of a Polish state, the redrawing of Europe's borders along ethnic lines, and the formation of a League of Nations to guarantee the political independence and territorial integrity of all states. It called for a just and democratic peace uncompromised by territorial annexation. The Fourteen Points were based on the research of the Inquiry, a team of about 150 advisors led by foreign-policy advisor Edward M. House, into the topics likely to arise in the expected peace conference.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918
The borders of Eastern Europe, as drawn up by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
After the Central Powers launched Operation Faustschlag on the Eastern Front, the new Soviet Government of Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany on 3 March 1918. This treaty ended the war between Russia and the Central powers and annexed 1,300,000 square miles (3,400,000 km2) of territory and 62 million people.
This loss equated to a third of the Russian population, a quarter of
its territory, around a third of the country's arable land,
three-quarters of its coal and iron, a third of its factories (totalling
54 percent of the nation's industrial capacity), and a quarter of its
railroads.
Armistice
During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse. Desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production. On the Western Front, the Allied forces launched the Hundred Days Offensive and decisively defeated the German western armies. Sailors of the Imperial German Navy at Kiel mutinied, which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the German Revolution. The German government tried to obtain a peace settlement based on the
Fourteen Points, and maintained it was on this basis that they
surrendered. Following negotiations, the Allied powers and Germany signed an armistice, which came into effect on 11 November while German forces were still positioned in France and Belgium.
Occupation
The terms of the armistice called for an immediate evacuation of German troops from occupied Belgium, France, and Luxembourg within fifteen days. In addition, it established that Allied forces would occupy the Rhineland. In late 1918, Allied troops entered Germany and began the occupation.
Blockade
Both Germany and Great Britain were dependent on imports of food and raw materials, most of which had to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. The Blockade of Germany (1914–1919) was a naval operation conducted by the Allied Powers to stop the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs reaching the Central Powers. The German Kaiserliche Marine was mainly restricted to the German Bight and used commerce raiders and unrestricted submarine warfare for a counter-blockade. The German Board of Public Health in December 1918 stated that 763,000 German civilians had died during the Allied blockade, although an academic study in 1928 put the death toll at 424,000 people.
Negotiations
The heads of the "Big Four" nations at the Paris Peace Conference, 27 May 1919. From left to right: David Lloyd George, Vittorio Orlando, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson
Talks between the Allies to establish a common negotiating position started on 18 January 1919, in the Salle de l'Horloge at the French Foreign Ministry on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris. Initially, 70 delegates from 27 nations participated in the negotiations. Russia was excluded due to their signing of a separate peace (the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)
and early withdrawal from the war. Furthermore, German negotiators were
excluded to deny them an opportunity to divide the Allies
diplomatically.
Initially, a "Council of Ten" (comprising two delegates each from
Britain, France, the United States, Italy, and Japan) met officially to
decide the peace terms. This council was replaced by the "Council of
Five", formed from each country's foreign ministers, to discuss minor
matters. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and United States President Woodrow Wilson formed the "Big Four"
(at one point becoming the "Big Three" following the temporary
withdrawal of Vittorio Emanuele Orlando). These four men met in 145
closed sessions to make all the major decisions, which were later
ratified by the entire assembly. The minor powers attended a weekly
"Plenary Conference" that discussed issues in a general forum but made
no decisions. These members formed over 50 commissions that made various
recommendations, many of which were incorporated into the final text of
the treaty.
French aims
France had lost 1.3 million soldiers, including 25% of French men aged 18–30 and 400,000 civilians. France had also been more physically damaged than any other nation (the so-called zone rouge
(Red Zone); the most industrialized region and the source of most coal
and iron ore in the north-east had been devastated and in the final days
of the war mines had been flooded and railways, bridges and factories
destroyed.)
Clemenceau intended to ensure the security of France, by weakening
Germany economically, militarily, territorially and by supplanting
Germany as the leading producer of steel in Europe. British economist and Versailles negotiator John Maynard Keynes
summarized this position as attempting to "set the clock back and undo
what, since 1870, the progress of Germany had accomplished."
Clemenceau told Wilson: "America is far away, protected by the ocean. Not even Napoleon himself could touch England. You are both sheltered; we are not". The French wanted a frontier on the Rhine, to protect France from a German invasion and compensate for French demographic and economic inferiority.
American and British representatives refused the French claim and after
two months of negotiations, the French accepted a British pledge to
provide an immediate alliance with France if Germany attacked again, and
Wilson agreed to put a similar proposal to the Senate. Clemenceau had told the Chamber of Deputies,
in December 1918, that his goal was to maintain an alliance with both
countries. Clemenceau accepted the offer, in return for an occupation of
the Rhineland for fifteen years and that Germany would also demilitarise the Rhineland.
French negotiators required reparations, to make Germany pay for
the destruction induced throughout the war and to decrease German
strength. The French also wanted the iron ore and coal of the Saar Valley, by annexation to France.
The French were willing to accept a smaller amount of reparations than
the Americans would concede and Clemenceau was willing to discuss German
capacity to pay with the German delegation, before the final settlement
was drafted. In April and May 1919, the French and Germans held
separate talks, on mutually acceptable arrangements on issues like
reparation, reconstruction and industrial collaboration. France, along
with the British Dominions and Belgium, opposed mandates and favored
annexation of former German colonies.
British aims
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
Britain had suffered heavy financial costs but suffered little physical devastation during the war. However, the British wartime coalition was re-elected during the so-called Coupon election at the end of 1918, with a policy of squeezing the German "'til the pips squeak".
Public opinion favoured a "just peace", which would force Germany to
pay reparations and be unable to repeat the aggression of 1914, although
those of a "liberal and advanced opinion" shared Wilson's ideal of a
peace of reconciliation.
In private Lloyd George opposed revenge and attempted to
compromise between Clemenceau's demands and the Fourteen Points, because
Europe would eventually have to reconcile with Germany.
Lloyd George wanted terms of reparation that would not cripple the
German economy, so that Germany would remain a viable economic power and
trading partner.
By arguing that British war pensions and widows' allowances should be
included in the German reparation sum, Lloyd George ensured that a large
amount would go to the British Empire.
Lloyd George also intended to maintain a European balance of power
to thwart a French attempt to establish itself as the dominant European
power. A revived Germany would be a counterweight to France and a
deterrent to Bolshevik Russia. Lloyd George also wanted to neutralize
the German navy to keep the Royal Navy
as the greatest naval power in the world; dismantle the German colonial
empire with several of its territorial possessions ceded to Britain and
others being established as League of Nations mandates, a position opposed by the Dominions.
American aims
Prior to the American entry into the war, Wilson had talked of a 'peace without victory'.
This position fluctuated following the US entry into the war. Wilson
spoke of the German aggressors, with whom there could be no compromised
peace.
However, on 8 January 1918, Wilson delivered a speech (known as the
Fourteen Points) that declared the American peace objectives: the
rebuilding of the European economy, self-determination of European and
Middle Eastern ethnic groups, the promotion of free trade, the creation
of appropriate mandates for former colonies, and above all, the creation
of a powerful League of Nations that would ensure the peace.
The aim of the latter was to provide a forum to revise the peace
treaties as needed, and deal with problems that arose as a result of the
peace and the rise of new states.
Wilson brought along top intellectuals as advisors to the
American peace delegation, and the overall American position echoed the
Fourteen Points. Wilson firmly opposed harsh treatment on Germany.
While the British and French wanted to largely annex the German
colonial empire, Wilson saw that as a violation of the fundamental
principles of justice and human rights of the native populations, and
favored them having the right of self-determination via the creation of
mandates. The promoted idea called for the major powers to act as
disinterested trustees over a region, aiding the native populations
until they could govern themselves.
In spite of this position and in order to ensure that Japan did not
refuse to join the League of Nations, Wilson favored turning over the
former German colony of Shandong, in Eastern China, to Japan rather than return the area to Chinese control. Further confounding the Americans, was US internal partisan politics. In November 1918, the Republican Party won the Senate election by a slim margin. Wilson, a Democrat,
refused to include prominent Republicans in the American delegation
making his efforts seem partisan, and contributed to a risk of political
defeat at home.
Italian aims
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando and his foreign minister Sidney Sonnino, an Anglican of British origins, worked primarily to secure the partition of the Habsburg Empire
and their attitude towards Germany was not as hostile. Generally
speaking, Sonnino was in line with the British position while Orlando
favored a compromise between Clemenceau and Wilson. Within the
negotiations for the Treaty of Versailles, Orlando obtained certain
results such as the permanent membership of Italy in the security
council of the League of Nations and a promised transfer of British Jubaland and French Aozou strip to the Italian colonies of Somalia and Libya respectively. Italian nationalists, however, saw WW1 as a mutilated victory
for what they considered to be little territorial gains achieved in the
other treaties directly impacting Italy's borders. Orlando was
ultimately forced to abandon the conference and resign. Orlando refused
to see World War One
as a mutilated victory, replying at nationalists calling for a greater
expansion that "Italy today is a great state....on par with the great
historic and contemporary states. This is, for me, our main and
principal expansion." Francesco Saverio Nitti took Orlando's place in signing the treaty of Versailles.
Treaty content and signing
German delegate Johannes Bell signing the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors, with various Allied delegations sitting and standing in front of him
In June 1919, the Allies declared that war would resume if the German
government did not sign the treaty they had agreed to among themselves.
The government headed by Philipp Scheidemann was unable to agree on a common position, and Scheidemann himself resigned rather than agree to sign the treaty. Gustav Bauer,
the head of the new government, sent a telegram stating his intention
to sign the treaty if certain articles were withdrawn, including
Articles 227, 230 and 231.
In response, the Allies issued an ultimatum stating that Germany would
have to accept the treaty or face an invasion of Allied forces across
the Rhine within 24 hours. On 23 June, Bauer
capitulated and sent a second telegram with a confirmation that a
German delegation would arrive shortly to sign the treaty. On 28 June 1919, the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (the immediate impetus for the war), the peace treaty was signed. The treaty had clauses ranging from war crimes, the prohibition on the merging of the Republic of German Austria
with Germany without the consent of the League of Nations, freedom of
navigation on major European rivers, to the returning of a Koran to the king of Hedjaz.
Territorial changes
Germany after Versailles:
Administered by the League of Nations
Annexed or transferred to neighbouring countries by the treaty, or later via plebiscite and League of Nations action
The treaty stripped Germany of 25,000 square miles (65,000 km2) of territory and 7 million people.
It also required Germany to give up the gains made via the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk and grant independence to the protectorates that had been
established. In Western Europe Germany was required to recognize Belgian sovereignty over Moresnet and cede control of the Eupen-Malmedy area. Within six months of the transfer, Belgium was required to conduct a plebiscite
on whether the citizens of the region wanted to remain under Belgian
sovereignty or return to German control, communicate the results to the
League of Nations and abide by the League's decision. To compensate for the destruction of French coal mines, Germany was to cede the output of the Saar coalmines to France and control of the Saar to the League of Nations for 15 years; a plebiscite would then be held to decide sovereignty. The treaty restored the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine to France by rescinding the treaties of Versailles and Frankfurt of 1871 as they pertained to this issue. France was able to make the claim that the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine
were indeed part of France and not part of Germany by disclosing a
letter sent from the Prussian King to Empress Eugénie that Eugénie
provided, in which William I
wrote that the territories of Alsace-Lorraine were requested by Germany
for the sole purpose of national defense and not to expand the German
territory. The sovereignty of Schleswig-Holstein was to be resolved by a plebiscite to be held at a future time.
In Central Europe Germany was to recognize the independence of Czechoslovakia (which had actually been controlled by Austria) and cede parts of the province of Upper Silesia.
Germany had to recognize the independence of Poland and renounce "all
rights and title over the territory". Portions of Upper Silesia were to
be ceded to Poland, with the future of the rest of the province to be
decided by plebiscite. The border would be fixed with regard to the vote
and to the geographical and economic conditions of each locality. The province of Posen (now Poznań), which had come under Polish control during the Greater Poland Uprising, was also to be ceded to Poland Pomerelia
(Eastern Pomerania), on historical and ethnic grounds, was transferred
to Poland so that the new state could have access to the sea and became
known as the Polish Corridor. The sovereignty of part of southern East Prussia was to be decided via plebiscite while the East Prussian Soldau area, which was astride the rail line between Warsaw and Danzig, was transferred to Poland outright without plebiscite. An area of 51,800 square kilometres (20,000 square miles) was granted to Poland at the expense of Germany. Memel was to be ceded to the Allied and Associated powers, for disposal according to their wishes. Germany was to cede the city of Danzig and its hinterland, including the delta of the Vistula River on the Baltic Sea, for the League of Nations to establish the Free City of Danzig.
Mandates
German colonies (light blue) were made into League of Nations mandates.
Article 119 of the treaty required Germany to renounce sovereignty
over former colonies and Article 22 converted the territories into League of Nations mandates under the control of Allied states. Togoland and German Kamerun (Cameroon) were transferred to France. Ruanda and Urundi were allocated to Belgium, whereas German South-West Africa went to South Africa and Britain obtained German East Africa. As compensation for the German invasion of Portuguese Africa, Portugal was granted the Kionga Triangle, a sliver of German East Africa in northern Mozambique. Article 156 of the treaty transferred German concessions in Shandong,
China, to Japan, not to China. Japan was granted all German possessions
in the Pacific north of the equator and those south of the equator went
to Australia, except for German Samoa, which was taken by New Zealand.
Military restrictions
The treaty was comprehensive and complex in the restrictions imposed upon the post-war German armed forces (the Reichswehr). The provisions were intended to make the Reichswehr incapable of offensive action and to encourage international disarmament. Germany was to demobilize sufficient soldiers by 31 March 1920 to leave an army of no more than 100,000 men
in a maximum of seven infantry and three cavalry divisions. The treaty
laid down the organisation of the divisions and support units, and the
General Staff was to be dissolved.
Military schools for officer training were limited to three, one school
per arm, and conscription was abolished. Private soldiers and non-commissioned officers were to be retained for at least twelve years and officers for a minimum of 25 years,
with former officers being forbidden to attend military exercises. To
prevent Germany from building up a large cadre of trained men, the
number of men allowed to leave early was limited.
Workmen decommissioning a heavy gun, to comply with the treaty
The number of civilian staff supporting the army was reduced and the
police force was reduced to its pre-war size, with increases limited to
population increases; paramilitary forces were forbidden.
The Rhineland was to be demilitarized, all fortifications in the
Rhineland and 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of the river were to be
demolished and new construction was forbidden. Military structures and fortifications on the islands of Heligoland and Düne were to be destroyed. Germany was prohibited from the arms trade, limits were imposed on the type and quantity of weapons and prohibited from the manufacture or stockpile of chemical weapons, armoured cars, tanks and military aircraft. The German navy was allowed six pre-dreadnought battleships and was limited to a maximum of six light cruisers (not exceeding 6,000 long tons (6,100 t)), twelve destroyers (not exceeding 800 long tons (810 t)) and twelve torpedo boats (not exceeding 200 long tons (200 t)) and was forbidden submarines. The manpower of the navy was not to exceed 15,000 men,
including manning for the fleet, coast defences, signal stations,
administration, other land services, officers and men of all grades and
corps. The number of officers and warrant officers was not allowed to
exceed 1,500 men. Germany surrendered eight battleships, eight light cruisers, forty-two destroyers, and fifty torpedo boats for decommissioning. Thirty-two auxiliary ships were to be disarmed and converted to merchant use.
Article 198 prohibited Germany from having an air force, including
naval air forces, and required Germany to hand over all aerial related
materials. In conjunction, Germany was forbidden to manufacture or
import aircraft or related material for a period of six months following
the signing of the treaty.
Reparations
In Article 231
Germany accepted responsibility for the losses and damages caused by
the war "as a consequence of the ... aggression of Germany and her
allies."
The treaty required Germany to compensate the Allied powers, and it
also established an Allied "Reparation Commission" to determine the
exact amount which Germany would pay and the form that such payment
would take. The commission was required to "give to the German
Government a just opportunity to be heard", and to submit its
conclusions by 1 May 1921. In the interim, the treaty required Germany to pay an equivalent of 20 billion
gold marks ($5 billion) in gold, commodities, ships, securities or
other forms. The money would help to pay for Allied occupation costs and
buy food and raw materials for Germany.
Guarantees
Location of the Rhineland (yellow)
To ensure compliance, the Rhineland and bridgeheads east of the Rhine were to be occupied by Allied troops for fifteen years. If Germany had not committed aggression, a staged withdrawal would take place; after five years, the Cologne bridgehead and the territory north of a line along the Ruhr would be evacuated. After ten years, the bridgehead at Coblenz and the territories to the north would be evacuated and after fifteen years remaining Allied forces would be withdrawn. If Germany reneged on the treaty obligations, the bridgeheads would be reoccupied immediately.
International organizations
Part I of the treaty, as per all the treaties signed during the Paris Peace Conference, was the Covenant of the League of Nations, which provided for the creation of the League, an organization for the arbitration of international disputes. Part XIII organized the establishment of the International Labour Officer,
to regulate hours of work, including a maximum working day and week;
the regulation of the labour supply; the prevention of unemployment; the
provision of a living wage; the protection of the worker against
sickness, disease and injury arising out of his employment; the
protection of children, young persons and women; provision for old age
and injury; protection of the interests of workers when employed abroad;
recognition of the principle of freedom of association; the
organization of vocational and technical education and other measures. The treaty also called for the signatories to sign or ratify the International Opium Convention.
