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The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I , it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers . It was signed in the Palace of Versailles , exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand , which led to the war.
- 10 January 1920
- Ratification by Germany and three Principal Allied and Associate Powers
- 28 June 1919
- Overview
- The Paris Peace Conference
The Treaty of Versailles was the primary treaty produced by the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919, by the Allied and associated powers and by Germany in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and went into effect on January 10, 1920. The treaty gave some German territories to neighbouring countries and placed other German territories under international supervision. In addition, Germany was stripped of its overseas colonies, its military capabilities were severely restricted, and it was required to pay war reparations to the Allied countries. The treaty also created the League of Nations.
World War I
Read more about World War I.
Who were the key people involved in drafting the Treaty of Versailles?
The chief people responsible for the Treaty of Versailles were U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson, French Premier Georges Clemenceau, and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando was a delegate but was shut out from the decision making. Wilson sought to create an egalitarian system that would prevent a conflagration similar to World War I from ever occurring again. Clemenceau wanted to make sure that Germany would not be a threat to France in the future, and he was not persuaded by Wilson’s idealism. Lloyd George favoured creating a balance of powers but was adamant that Germany pay reparations.
What were the main provisions of the Treaty of Versailles?
When the German government asked U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson to arrange a general armistice in October 1918, it declared that it accepted the Fourteen Points that he had formulated and presented to the U.S. Congress in January 1918 as the basis for a just peace. However, the Allies demanded “compensation by Germany for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allies and their property by the aggression of Germany by land, by sea and from the air.” Further, the nine points covering new territorial consignments were complicated by the secret treaties that England, France, and Italy had made with Greece, Romania, and each other during the last years of the war.
The treaty was drafted in the spring of 1919 during the Paris Peace Conference, which was conducted even as the world was in the grip of the influenza pandemic of 1918–19. The conference was dominated by the national leaders known as the “Big Four”—David Lloyd George, the prime minister of the United Kingdom; Georges Clemenceau, the prime minister of France; Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States; and Vittorio Orlando, the prime minister of Italy. The first three in particular made the important decisions. None of the defeated nations had any say in shaping the treaty, and even the associated Allied powers played only a minor role. The German delegates were presented with a fait accompli. They were shocked at the severity of the terms and protested the contradictions between the assurances made when the armistice was negotiated and the actual treaty. Accepting the “war guilt” clause and the reparation terms was especially odious to them.
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Oct 29, 2009 · Learn about the peace treaty that ended World War I and imposed harsh terms on Germany, including war guilt and reparations. Find out how the treaty contributed to the rise of Nazism and World War II.
Learn about the 1919 treaty that ended World War I and imposed harsh terms on Germany, such as reparations and territorial losses. Explore how the treaty influenced the rise of Nazism and the League of Nations.
- Couldn't it be a little too early in history to tell if the United Nations has in fact "succeeded" i...Global disarmament is an idle day dream. While it would be very nice if everybody laid down their weapons and swore off war, it will never, ever ha...
- The text says $5b in reparations but the cartoon says $55b. Which is it?55 Billion
- To what extent was the treaty of versailles fatally flawed? was it even fatally flawed?The Treaty of Versailles was flawed in many ways as it put the complete blame of the War on Germany. Germany was forced to pay heavy reparations, l...
- was the treaty of Versailles a direct cause of world war II? what are your opinion. how did the war ...1. Although the treaty of Versailles was a cause of WWII, the invasion of poland was the thing that spiraled all of the powers into war 2. The hars...
- why some people think that treaty of versailles was fair?Those people were on the "winning" side. When we are on the side that has the privilege, we see things as "fair" White privilege in America, and Hi...
- How did the Allied Powers react to the over the claims that the treaty of Versailles was too harsh?The president at the time, Woodrow Wilson, opposed the harsh conditions, and many parties within the U.S also opposed the Treaty of Versailles alto...
- many people agree that the treaty of versailles did eventually play an important role in ww2. But at...That is arguable. Some historians say it was justifiable, as it was meant to prevent another war, but most people believed the conditions were too...
- how did the Treaty of Versailles affect France?Partly it enabled an entire nation to avoid any responsibility for the Great War, and gave it a legal basis to further impoverish a neighboring nat...
- Is the league of Nations just the UN now?No. These are two different organizations. Though the corporate identity and assets of the League of Nations were absorbed by the UN. As weak as th...
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For the full article, see Treaty of Versailles . Treaty of Versailles, International agreement, signed in 1919 at the Palace of Versailles, that concluded World War I. It was negotiated primarily by the U.S., Britain, and France, without participation by the war’s losers. Germany was forced to accept blame for Allied losses and to pay major ...
The treaty that ended World War I and imposed harsh terms on Germany, such as losing territory, colonies, and military power. It also created the League of Nations and the International Labour Organization to promote peace and social justice.
Learn about the historical significance and the harsh conditions of the peace treaty that ended the First World War in 1919. The treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors by the Allied powers and Germany, and it led to the rise of Nazi Germany and the Second World War.
