Treaty of Versailles - the most important of the series of peace treaties that ended the First World War (1914-1918); the document, signed at Versailles on June 28, 1919, brought to an end the war between Germany and the anti-German coalition.
In this article, we will explain what is meant by the Treaty of Versailles and what was attributed to it.
Signatories to the Treaty of Versailles
The Versailles Treaty was signed by the defeated Germany, on the one hand, and the victorious countries, Great Britain, France, USA, Italy and Japan, on the other.
Russia, which was originally part of the victorious Entente, but later left it, did not participate in the peace negotiations and the signing of the treaty.
German losses
The Treaty of Versailles proved to be an unbearable burden for Germany, which was responsible for the outbreak of the war. The state suffered enormous human and economic losses. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany pledged to give up the following territories:
- Alsace-Lorraine withdrew to France, including all bridges across the Rhine, as well as the coal mines of the Saar Basin;
- Belgium received the Eupen-Malmedy districts and parts of the Morene;
- Poland got Poznan, part of Pomerania and a number of lands of West Prussia;
- Gdansk was declared a “free city” of the League of Nations (the predecessor of the UN);
- Memel region was transferred to Lithuania;
- Czechoslovakia received the Gluchin region.
The lands on the right bank of the Oder remained under the control of the Weimar Republic. The Saarland region came under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years.
The entire German part of the left bank of the Rhine and the strip of the right bank were subject to demilitarization. The Rhine Demilitarized Zone was established in this region.
Reparations and military restrictions
In favor of the victorious countries, Germany pledged to pay huge reparations totaling 269 billion gold marks, which is equivalent to 96,000 tons of gold. The state had a lot of restrictions in terms of militarization:
- the abolition of universal military service;
- the army was not to exceed 100,000 volunteer soldiers;
- the dissolution of the General Staff and the military academy;
- all fortifications of Germany were destroyed, except those in the south and east of the country;
- the fleet could only consist of 6 battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 counter-destroyers and 12 destroyers;
- a ban on the submarine fleet and military aviation;
- it was forbidden to have armored vehicles;
- weapons could only be made under the supervision of the victorious countries.
All the rest of Germany's military equipment was to be transferred to the victorious countries. Such harsh and virtually impossible conditions of the Versailles Treaty led the country's economy to decline. The Germans were angry with the "occupiers", as a result of which, when Adolf Hitler came to power, they looked at him as their liberator.
As a result, the Nazis unleashed the Second World War (1939-1945), which turned out to be even bloodier than the First World War.
