Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace agreement signed on 28 June 1919 between Germany and the Allied and Associated Powers after the First World War. At the Paris Peace Conference, the victorious powers sought to reorganize Europe and establish new conditions for peace. Germany did not negotiate on equal terms and received the final treaty for acceptance.

Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France, ceded other territories and lost its overseas colonies. Its armed forces were restricted: the army was limited to 100,000 volunteers, conscription was banned, and Germany could not have an air force or submarines. The Rhineland was to remain demilitarized.

The treaty also created the League of Nations, although Germany was initially excluded. Article 231 required Germany to accept responsibility for Allied losses and damage. Later called the “war guilt clause”, it provided a legal basis for reparations, whose final amount was fixed in 1921 at 132 billion gold marks.

Many Germans saw the treaty as imposed and humiliating, while some Allied leaders considered it too lenient. The United States Senate rejected ratification, so the United States never became a party to it. The treaty did not by itself cause the Second World War, but its consequences contributed to tensions between the wars.