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{{Short description|One of the treaties that ended World War I}}{{Distinguish|Little Treaty of Versailles}}
{{About|the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, at the end of World War&nbsp;I|other uses|Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox treaty
| name = Treaty of Versailles
| long_name = Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany<ref name="Preamble" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Preamble|Preamble]]</ref>
| image = Treaty of Versailles, English version.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Cover of the English version of the treaty.
| type = 
| date_drafted = 
| date_signed = {{start date and age|28 June 1919}}{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=114}}
| location_signed = [[Hall of Mirrors]] in the [[Palace of Versailles]], [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], France{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=107}}
| date_sealed = 
| date_effective = 10 January 1920{{sfn|Boyer|Clark|Hawley|Kett|2009|p=153}}
| condition_effective = [[Ratification]] by Germany and three Principal Allied and Associate Powers<ref name="Signatures and Protocol" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Protocol|Signatures and Protocol]]</ref>
| date_expiration = 
| signatories = 
| parties = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal;background:transparent;text-align:left; | title = '''Principal Allied and Associated Powers'''<ref name="Preamble" group=n. />
<!-- Named as such in the treaty. The following are in the order as presented in the preamble of the treaty. Any reordering or rewording, without consensus, will be reverted. -->
   | {{flag|United States|1912}}{{efn-lr|The United States ended its state of war with the [[U.S.–German Peace Treaty (1921)]].}}
   | {{flag|British Empire}}<ref name="Signatures and Protocol" group=n. />
   | &nbsp;•&nbsp;{{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}
   | &nbsp;•&nbsp;{{flag|Canada|1907}}
   | &nbsp;•&nbsp;{{flag|Australia}}
   | &nbsp;•&nbsp;{{flagcountry|Union of South Africa|1912}}
   | &nbsp;•&nbsp;{{flagcountry|Dominion of New Zealand}}
   | &nbsp;•&nbsp;{{flagcountry|British Raj|Viceroy}}
   | {{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}
   | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}
   | {{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}
 }}
{{Collapsible list | title = Allied and Associated Powers<ref name="Preamble" group=n. />
   | {{flag|Belgium}}
   | {{flagdeco|Bolivia|state}} [[History of Bolivia (1809–1920)#The Liberal Party and the rise of tin, 1899–1920|Bolivia]]
   | {{flagcountry|First Brazilian Republic}}
   | {{flagcountry|Republic of China (1912–1949)|1912}}
   | {{flagcountry|Republic of Cuba (1902-1959)}}
   | {{flagdeco|Ecuador|1900}} [[History of Ecuador (1895–1925)|Ecuador]]
   | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Greece|state}}
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   | {{flag|Republic of Haiti (1859–1957)|name=Haiti}}
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   | {{flagcountry|Second Polish Republic|1919}}
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   | {{flag|Kingdom of Yugoslavia|name=Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes}}
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   }}
----
* '''Central Power'''
*{{flag|Weimar Republic|name=Germany}}<ref name="Preamble" group=n. /><!-- While the German Reich is the correct name for the period and historians refer to the German Government of this period as the Weimar Republic, the treaty refers to the nation as Germany and thus so does the article here. -->
| depositor = French Government<ref name="Signatures and Protocol" group=n. />
| languages = [[French language|French]] and [[English language|English]]<ref name="Signatures and Protocol" group=n. />
| website = 
| wikisource = Treaty of Versailles
}}
{{Paris Peace Conference sidebox}}
{{Events leading to World War II}}

The '''Treaty of Versailles'''{{efn-lr|{{langx|fr|Traité de Versailles}} {{IPA|fr|tʁɛte d(ə) vɛʁsɑj|}}; {{langx|de|Versailler Vertrag}} {{IPA|de|vɛʁˈzaɪ.ɐ fɐˈtʁaːk, -ˈsaɪ.ɐ -||De-Versailler Vertrag.ogg}}.}} was a [[peace treaty]] signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of [[World War&nbsp;I]], it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the [[Allies of World War I|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. The other [[Central Powers]] on the German side signed separate treaties.{{efn-lr|[[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)]] with Austria; [[Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine]] with Bulgaria; [[Treaty of Trianon]] with Hungary; [[Treaty of Sèvres]] with the Ottoman Empire {{harvcol|Davis|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gsM1JiXAMJEC 49]}}.}} Although the [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|armistice]] of 11 November 1918 ended the actual fighting, and agreed certain principles and conditions including the payment of reparations, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] to conclude the peace treaty. Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before signing the treaty.

The treaty [[German disarmament|required Germany to disarm]], make territorial concessions, extradite alleged war criminals, agree to Kaiser Wilhelm being put on trial, recognise the independence of states whose territory had previously been part of the German Empire, and pay [[World War I reparations|reparations]] to the [[Triple Entente|Entente]] powers. The most critical and controversial provision in the treaty was: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." The other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles. This article, [[Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles|Article 231]], became known as the "War Guilt" clause.

Critics including [[John Maynard Keynes]] declared the treaty too harsh, styling it as a "[[Carthaginian peace]]", and saying the reparations were excessive and counterproductive. On the other hand, prominent Allied figures such as French Marshal [[Ferdinand Foch]] criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently. This is still the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists.

The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was a compromise that left no one satisfied. In particular, Germany was neither [[Appeasement#Failure of collective security|pacified]] nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The United States never ratified the Versailles treaty; instead it made a separate peace treaty with Germany, albeit based on the Versailles treaty. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the [[Locarno Treaties]], which improved relations between Germany and the other European powers. The reparation system was reorganized and payments reduced in the [[Dawes Plan]] and the [[Young Plan]]. Bitter resentment of the treaty powered the [[Hitler's rise to power|rise]] of the [[Nazi Party]], and eventually the outbreak of a [[World War II|second World War]].

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 (France)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] on the [[Quai d'Orsay]].

==Background==
===First World War===
{{main|World War&nbsp;I|Diplomatic history of World War I}}
[[File:The signing of the peace treaty of Versailles.webm|thumb|thumbtime=00:01:45|Newsreel footage of the signing of the peace treaty at Versailles]]

War broke out following the [[July Crisis]] in 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, followed quickly by Germany declaring war on Russia on 1 August, and on Belgium and France on 3 August. The German invasion of Belgium on 3 August led to a declaration of war by Britain on Germany on 4 August, creating the conflict that became the [[World War I|First World War]].{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=1078}} 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 [[European theatre of World War I|Europe]], as well as the [[Middle Eastern theatre of World War I|Middle East]], [[African theatre of World War I|Africa]] and [[Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I|Asia]]. Having seen the overthrow of the Tsarist regime in the [[February Revolution]] and the Kerensky government in the [[October Revolution]], the new [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] under [[Vladimir Lenin]] in March 1918 signed the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]], amounting to a surrender that was highly favourable to Germany. Sensing victory before the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] could be ready, Germany now shifted forces to the Western Front and tried to overwhelm the Allies. It failed. Instead, the Allies won decisively on the battlefield, overwhelmed Germany's Turkish, Austrian, and Bulgarian allies, and forced an [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice in November 1918]] that resembled a surrender.{{sfn|Wiest|2012|pp=126, 168, 200}}

===Role of the Fourteen Points===
{{main|American entry into World War&nbsp;I|Fourteen Points}}

The United States entered the war against the Central Powers in 1917 and President [[Woodrow Wilson]] played a significant role in shaping the peace terms. His expressed aim was to detach the war from nationalistic disputes and ambitions. On 8 January 1918, Wilson issued the [[Fourteen Points]]. They outlined a policy of [[free trade]], [[secret treaty|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 [[History of Poland during World War I|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.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=429}}<ref name="Fourteen Points Speech" group=n.>[[s:Fourteen Points Speech|President Wilson's "Fourteen Points" Speech]]</ref>
It called for what it characterised as a just and democratic peace uncompromised by territorial [[annexation]]. The Fourteen Points were based on the research of the [[The Inquiry|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.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|pp=422–424}}

===Armistice===
{{Main|Armistice of 11 November 1918|Occupation of the Rhineland}}
[[File:Western front 1918 allied.jpg|thumb|alt=|Map showing the Western Front as it stood on 11 November 1918. The German frontier of 1914 had been crossed in the vicinities of [[Mulhouse]], [[Château-Salins]], and [[Marieulles]] in Alsace-Lorraine. The post-war bridgeheads over the Rhine are also shown.]]

During the autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse.{{sfn|Beller|2007|pp=182–195}} Desertion rates within the German army began to increase, and civilian strikes drastically reduced war production.{{sfn|Bessel|1993|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Hardach|1987|pp=183–184}} On the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], the [[Allies of World War I|Allied forces]] launched the [[Hundred Days Offensive]] and decisively defeated the German western armies.{{sfn|Simkins|2002|p=71}} Sailors of the [[Imperial German Navy]] at Kiel [[Kiel mutiny|mutinied]] in response to the [[naval order of 24 October 1918]], which prompted uprisings in Germany, which became known as the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|German Revolution]].{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=638}}{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=101}} 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 [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|signed an armistice]], which came into effect on 11 November while German forces were still positioned in [[French Third Republic|France]] and [[Belgium in World War I|Belgium]].{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=102}}{{sfn|Weinberg|1994|p=8}}{{sfn|Boyer|Clark|Hawley|Kett|2009|p=526}}

Many aspects of the Versailles treaty that were later criticised were agreed first in the 11 November armistice agreement, whilst the war was still ongoing. These included the German evacuation of [[German occupation of northern France during World War I|German-occupied France]], [[German occupation of Belgium during World War I|Belgium]], [[German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I|Luxembourg]], Alsace-Lorraine, and the [[Left Bank of the Rhine|left bank of the Rhine]] (all of which were to be administered by the Allies under the armistice agreement), the surrender of a large quantity of war materiel, and the agreed payment of "reparation for damage done".{{sfn|Gilbert|1974|pp=270–273}}

German forces evacuated occupied France, Belgium, and Luxembourg within the fifteen days required by the armistice agreement.{{sfn|Edmonds|1943|p=1}} By late 1918, Allied troops had entered Germany and began the occupation of the Rhineland under the agreement, in the process establishing bridgeheads across the Rhine in case of renewed fighting at Cologne, Koblenz, and Mainz. Allied and German forces were additionally to be separated by a 10&nbsp;km-wide demilitarised zone.{{sfn|Martel|1999|p=18}}{{sfn|Barnes|Ebertowski|2011|p=14}}

===Blockade===
{{main|Blockade of Germany (1914–1919)}}

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 was a [[naval blockade|naval operation]] conducted by the Allied Powers to stop the supply of raw materials and foodstuffs reaching the Central Powers. The German {{lang|de|[[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 {{nowrap|763,000 German}} civilians had died during the Allied blockade, although an academic study in 1928 put the death toll at {{nowrap|424,000 people.}}{{sfn|Grebler|1940|p=78}}

The blockade was maintained for eight months after the Armistice in November 1918, into the following year of 1919. Foodstuffs imports into Germany were controlled by the Allies after the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice with Germany]] until Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919.{{sfn|Mowat|1968|p=213}} In March 1919, Churchill informed the House of Commons, that the ongoing blockade was a success and "Germany is very near starvation."{{sfn|Fuller|1993}} From January 1919 to March 1919, Germany refused to agree to Allied demands that Germany surrender its merchant ships to Allied ports to transport food supplies. Some Germans considered the armistice to be a temporary cessation of the war and knew, if fighting broke out again, their ships would be seized.{{sfn|Marks|2013|p=650}} Over the winter of 1919, the situation became desperate and Germany finally agreed to surrender its fleet in March.{{sfn|March 1919 Brussels agreement}} The Allies then allowed for the import of 270,000 tons of foodstuffs.{{sfn|March 1919 Brussels agreement}}

Both German and non-German observers have argued that these were the most devastating months of the blockade for German civilians,{{sfn|Paul|1985|p=145}} though disagreement persists as to the extent and who is truly at fault.{{sfn|Marks|2013|p=651}}{{sfn|''Proceedings of the National Assembly''|1919|pp=631–635}}{{sfn|''Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung''|1919}}{{sfn|Roerkohl|1991|p=348}}{{sfn|Rudloff|1998|p=184}} According to [[Max Rubner]] 100,000 German civilians died due to the continuation blockade after the armistice.{{sfn|Rubner|1919|p=15}} In the UK, [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] member and anti-war activist [[Robert Smillie]] issued a statement in June 1919 condemning continuation of the blockade, claiming 100,000 German civilians had died as a result.<ref>''Common Sense'' 5 July 1919.</ref>{{sfn|Bane|1942|p=791}}

==Negotiations==
{{See also|Rue Nitot}}[[File:Big four.jpg|thumb|The heads of the "[[The Big Four (World War I)|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 {{lang|fr|Salle de l'Horloge}} (Clock Room) at the [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|French Foreign Ministry]] on the [[Quai d'Orsay]] in Paris.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=37}}
Initially, 70 delegates from 27 nations participated in the negotiations.{{sfn|Lentin|1985|p=84}} [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]] was excluded due to their signing of a separate peace (the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)|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.{{sfn|Weinberg|1994|p=12}}

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 "[[The Big Four (World War I)|Big Four]]" (at one point becoming the "Big Three" following the temporary withdrawal of 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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|pp=40–41}}{{sfn|Venzon|1999|p=439}}{{sfn|Lentin|2012|p=22}}

===French aims===
{{See also|Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)}}
France had lost 1.3&nbsp;million soldiers, including {{nowrap|25% of}} French men aged {{nowrap|18–30, as well as}} {{nowrap|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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=43}}
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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=43}}{{sfn|Lentin|2012|p=21}}{{sfn|Layne|1996|p=187}}
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."{{sfn|Keynes|1920|p=34}}

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".{{sfn|Keylor|1998|p=43}}
The French wanted a frontier on the [[Rhine River|Rhine]], to protect France from a German invasion and compensate for French demographic and economic inferiority.{{sfn|Keylor|1998|p=34}}{{sfn|Lentin|1992|p=28}}
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 [[United States Senate|Senate]]. Clemenceau had told the [[Chamber of Deputies (France)|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 [[demilitarized zone|demilitarise]] the Rhineland.{{sfn|Lentin|1992|pp=28–32}}

French negotiators required reparations, to make Germany pay for the destruction induced throughout the war and to decrease German strength.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=43}} The French also wanted the iron ore and coal of the [[Saar (river)|Saar Valley]], by annexation to France.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|pp=43–44}}
The French were willing to accept a smaller amount of [[World War&nbsp;I 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 [[League of Nations mandate]]s and favored annexation of former [[German colonial empire|German colonies]].{{sfn|Trachtenberg|1982|p=499}}

The French, who had suffered significantly in the areas occupied by Germany during the war, were in favour of trying German war criminals, including the Kaiser. In the face of American objections that there was no applicable existing law under which the Kaiser could be tried, Clemenceau took the view that the "law of responsibility" overruled all other laws and that putting the Kaiser on trial offered the opportunity to establish this as an international precedent.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=269}}

=== British aims ===
{{Further|Heavenly Twins (Sumner and Cunliffe)|Fontainebleau Memorandum}}
[[File:David Lloyd George.jpg|thumb|upright|British Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]]|alt=A man poses for a photograph.]]

Britain had suffered heavy financial costs but suffered little physical devastation during the war.{{sfn|Thomson|1970|p=605}} British public opinion wanted to make Germany pay for the War.{{sfn|Henig|1995|pp=2–3}}
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.{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=102}}

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.{{sfn|Brezina|2006|p=21}}
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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=44}}{{sfn|Brezina|2006|p=21}}{{sfn|Thomson|1970|p=605}} 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.{{sfn|Yearwood|2009|p=127}}

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 mandate]]s, a position opposed by the [[Dominion]]s.{{sfn|Brezina|2006|p=21}}

Together with the French, the British favoured putting German war criminals on trial, and included the Kaiser in this. Already in 1916 [[H. H. Asquith|Herbert Asquith]] had declared the intention "to bring to justice the criminals, whoever they be and whatever their station", and a resolution of the war cabinet in 1918 reaffirmed this intent.{{sfn|Kim|2000|pp=52–53}} Lloyd George declared that the British people would not accept a treaty that did not include terms on this, though he wished to limit the charges solely to violation of the 1839 treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutrality.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|pp=269–270}} The British were also well aware that the Kaiser having sought refuge in the Netherlands meant that any trial was unlikely to take place and therefore any Article demanding it was likely to be a dead letter.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=272}}

===American aims===
Before the American entry into the war, Wilson had talked of a "peace without victory".{{sfn|Wilson|1917}} This position fluctuated following the US entry into the war. Wilson spoke of the German aggressors, with whom there could be no compromised peace.{{sfn|Trachtenberg|1982|p=490}}
On 8 January 1918, however, Wilson delivered a speech (known as the [[Fourteen Points]]) that declared the American peace objectives: the rebuilding of the [[Economy of Europe|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.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|pp=454–505}} 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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=48}}{{sfn|Brezina|2006|p=21}}

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.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|pp=454–505}} 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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|pp=46–47}}
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 Problem|Shandong]], in [[East China|Eastern China]], to the [[Empire of Japan|Japanese Empire]] rather than return the area to the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]'s control.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=65}}
Further confounding the Americans, was US internal partisan politics. In November 1918, the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] won the [[1918 United States Senate elections|Senate election]] by a slim margin. Wilson, a [[Democratic Party (United States)|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.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|pp=454–505}}

On the subject of war crimes, the Americans differed to the British and French in that Wilson's proposal was that any trial of the Kaiser should be solely a political and moral affair, and not one of criminal responsibility, meaning that the death penalty would be precluded.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=271}} This was based on the American view, particularly those of [[Robert Lansing]],{{sfn|Kim|2000|pp=52–53}} that there was no applicable law under which the Kaiser could be tried.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=269}} Additionally, the Americans favoured trying other German war criminals before military tribunals rather than an international court, with prosecutions being limited to "violation[s] of the laws and customs of war", and opposed any trials based on violations against what was called "[[Crimes against humanity|laws of humanity]]".{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=271}}

===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 Somaliland|Italian colonies of Somalia]] and [[Italian Libya|Libya]] respectively. [[Italian nationalism|Italian nationalists]], however, saw the War 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&nbsp;I]] 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.<ref>da Atti Parlamentari, Camera dei Deputati, Discussioni</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=October 2020}}

The Italian leadership were divided on whether to try the Kaiser. Sonnino considered that putting the Kaiser on trial could result in him becoming a "patriotic martyr". Orlando, in contrast, stated that "the ex-Kaiser ought to pay like other criminals", but was less sure about whether the Kaiser should be ''tried'' as a criminal or merely have a political verdict cast against him. Orlando also considered that "[t]he question of the constitution of the Court presents almost insurmountable difficulties".{{sfn|Schabas|2018|pp=61–62}}

==Treaty content and signing==
{{Wikisource|Treaty of Versailles}}
[[File:William Orpen – The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles 1919, Ausschnitt.jpg|thumb|German delegate [[Johannes Bell]] signing the Treaty of Versailles in the [[Hall of Mirrors (Palace of Versailles)|Hall of Mirrors]], with various Allied delegations sitting and standing in front of him|alt=Numerous men stand and sit around a long table, while the man sitting in the foreground signs a document.]]

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 [[Scheidemann cabinet|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 to 231 (i.e., the Articles related to the extradition of the Kaiser for trial, the extradition of German war criminals for trial before Allied tribunals, the handing over of documents relevant for war crimes trials, and accepting liability for war reparations).{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|pp=278–279}}{{efn-lr|See the [[#Reparations|Reparations]] section.}} 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 {{nowrap|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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=73}}
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.{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=114}} 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 [[Rivers in Europe|European rivers]], to the returning of a [[Quran]] to the king of [[Kingdom of Hejaz|Hedjaz]].<ref name="Articles 227–230" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part VII|Articles 227–230]]</ref><ref group=n. name="Article 80">[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III#Section VI. Austria|Article 80]]</ref><ref name="Part XII" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part XII|Part XII]]</ref><ref name="Article 246" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part VIII|Article 246]]</ref>

===Territorial changes===
[[File:German losses after WWI.svg|thumb|right|Germany after Versailles:

{{legend|#ddefd0|Administered by the [[League of Nations]]}}
{{legend|#ffffcf|Annexed or transferred to neighbouring countries by the treaty, or later via plebiscite and League of Nations action}}
{{legend|#f6d3a9|[[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]]}}|alt=A map of Germany. It is colour-coded to show the transfer of territory from German to the surrounding countries and define the new borders.]]

The treaty stripped Germany of {{convert|25000|sqmi|km2|order=flip|abbr=on}} of territory and 7&nbsp;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.{{sfn|Truitt|2010|p=114}}
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.<ref name="Articles 33 and 34" group="n.">[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 33 and 34]].</ref> The Belgian transitional administration, under High Commissioner General [[Herman Baltia]], was responsible for the organisation and control of this process, held between January and June 1920. The plebiscite itself was held without a [[secret ballot]], and organized as a consultation in which all citizens who opposed the annexation had to formally register their protest. Ultimately, only 271 of 33,726 voters signed the protest list, of which 202 were German state servants. After the Belgian government reported this result, the League of Nations confirmed the change of status on 20 September 1920, with the line of the German-Belgian border finally fixed by a League of Nations commission in 1922.{{sfn|Brüll|2014}} To compensate for the destruction of French coal mines, Germany was to cede the output of the [[Saar (river)|Saar]] coalmines to France and [[Territory of the Saar Basin|control of the Saar to the League of Nations]] for 15 years; a plebiscite would then be held to decide sovereignty.<ref name="Articles 45 and 49" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 45 and 49]]</ref>
The treaty restored the provinces of [[Alsace-Lorraine]] to France by rescinding the treaties of [[Treaty of Versailles (1871)|Versailles]] and [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Frankfurt]] of 1871 as they pertained to this issue.<ref name="Section V preamble and Article 51" group="n.">[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III#Article 51|Section V preamble and Article 51]]</ref>
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 the [[Empress Eugénie]] that Eugénie provided, in which [[William I, German Emperor|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.{{sfn|Reinach|1920|p=193}} The sovereignty of [[Schleswig-Holstein]] was to be resolved by a plebiscite to be held at a future time (see [[Schleswig Plebiscites]]).{{sfn|Peckham|2003|p=107}}

In [[Central Europe]] Germany was to recognize the independence of [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] and cede parts of the province of [[Upper Silesia]] to them.<ref name="Articles 81 and 83" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 81 and 83]]</ref>
Germany had to recognize the independence of [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], which had [[Polish independence regained|regained its independence]] following a national revolution against the occupying Central Powers, and renounce "all rights and title" over Polish 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.<ref name="Article 88 and annex" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 88 and annex]]</ref>
The [[Province of Posen]] (now [[Poznań]]), which had come under Polish control during the [[Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland Uprising]], was also to be ceded to Poland.{{sfn|Frucht|2004|p=24}}{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=lii}}
[[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]].{{sfn|Boemeke|Feldman|Glaser|1998|p=325}}
The sovereignty of part of southern [[East Prussia]] was to be decided via [[1920 East Prussian plebiscite|plebiscite]] while the East Prussian [[Działdowo|Soldau area]], which was astride the rail line between [[Warsaw]] and [[Gdańsk|Danzig]], was transferred to Poland outright without plebiscite.<ref name="Article 94" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 94]]</ref>{{sfn|Ingrao|Szabo|2007|p=261}}
An area of {{convert|51800|km²|sqmi|abbr=off}} was transferred to Poland under the agreement.{{sfn|Brezina|2006|p=34}}
[[Klaipėda Region|Memel]] was to be ceded to the Allied and Associated powers, for disposal according to their wishes.<ref name="Article 99" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 99]]</ref>
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]].<ref name="Articles 100–104" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 100–104]]</ref>

===Mandates===
{{main|League of Nations mandate}}
[[File:Map of the German Empire - 1914.PNG|thumb|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.<ref name="Articles 22 and 119" group=n.>[[s:Covenant of the League of Nations#Article 22|Article 22]] and [[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part IV#Article 119|Article 119]]</ref> [[Togoland]] and [[German Kamerun]] (Cameroon) were transferred to France, aside from portions given to Britain, [[British Togoland]] and [[British Cameroon]]. [[Ruanda-Urundi|Ruanda and Urundi]] were allocated to Belgium, whereas [[German South-West Africa]] went to South Africa and Britain obtained [[German East Africa]].{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=437}}{{sfn|Benians|Butler|Carrington|1959|p=658}}{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=1224}} As compensation for the German invasion of Portuguese Africa, Portugal was granted the [[Kionga Triangle]], a sliver of German East Africa in northern [[Mozambique]].{{sfn|Roberts|1986|p=496}}
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]].{{sfn|Benians|Butler|Carrington|1959|p=658}}<ref name="Article 156" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part IV|Article 156]]</ref>

===Military restrictions===
The treaty was comprehensive and complex in the restrictions imposed upon the post-war German armed forces (the {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}}). The provisions were intended to make the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} incapable of offensive action and to encourage international disarmament.{{sfn|Shuster|2006|p=74}}<ref name="Part V preamble" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Part V preamble]]</ref>
Germany was to demobilize sufficient soldiers by 31 March 1920 to leave an army of no more than {{nowrap|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 [[German General Staff]] was to be dissolved.<ref name="Articles 159, 160, 163 and Table 1" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 159, 160, 163 and Table 1]]</ref>
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 [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] for a minimum of {{nowrap|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.<ref name="Articles 173, 174, 175 and 176" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 173, 174, 175 and 176]]</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1972-081-03, Zerlegen eines schweren Geschützes.jpg|thumb|Workmen decommissioning a heavy gun (likely [[28 cm Haubitze L/14 i.R.]]{{cn|date=April 2025}}), to comply with the treaty.|alt=Three men sit on top of a large artillery piece.]]
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.<ref name="Articles 161, 162, and 176" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 161, 162, and 176]]</ref>
The Rhineland was to be demilitarized, all fortifications in the Rhineland and {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=off}} east of the river were to be demolished and new construction was forbidden.<ref name="Articles 42, 43, and 180" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles|Articles 42, 43, and 180]]</ref>
Military structures and fortifications on the islands of [[Heligoland]] and [[Düne]] were to be destroyed.<ref name="Article 115" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 115]]</ref>
Germany was prohibited from [[Arms industry|the arms trade]], limits were imposed on the type and quantity of weapons and prohibited from the manufacture or stockpile of [[chemical weapons]], [[Armored car (military)|armoured cars]], [[tank]]s and military aircraft.<ref name="Articles 165, 170, 171, 172, 198 and tables No. II and III." group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 165, 170, 171, 172, 198 and tables No. II and III.]]</ref>
The [[Reichsmarine|German navy]] was allowed six [[pre-dreadnought battleship]]s and was limited to a maximum of six [[light cruisers]] (not exceeding {{convert|6000|lt|t|adj=off}}), twelve [[destroyers]] (not exceeding {{convert|800|lt|t|adj=off}}) and twelve [[torpedo boats]] (not exceeding {{convert|200|lt|t|adj=off}}) and was forbidden [[submarine]]s.<ref name="Articles 181 and 190" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 181 and 190]]</ref>
The manpower of the navy was not to exceed {{nowrap|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 {{nowrap|1,500 men.}}<ref group=n. name="Article 80" />
Germany surrendered eight [[battleships]], eight light cruisers, forty-two destroyers, and fifty torpedo boats for decommissioning. Thirty-two [[Armed merchantman|auxiliary ships]] were to be disarmed and converted to merchant use.<ref name="Articles 185 and 187" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 185 and 187]]</ref>
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.<ref name="Articles 198, 201, and 202" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part V|Articles 198, 201, and 202]]</ref>

===Reparations===
{{Main|World War&nbsp;I reparations}}

In [[Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles|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."<ref name="Article 231" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part VIII|Article 231]]</ref>{{efn-lr|Similar wording was used in the treaties signed by the other defeated nations of the Central Powers: Article 177 of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with Austria; Article 161 of the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary; Article 121 of the Treaty Areas of Neuilly-sur-Seine with Bulgaria; and Article 231 of the Treaty of Sevres with Turkey.<ref name="Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Article 177"group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye/Part VIII|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Article 177]]</ref><ref name="Treaty of Trianon, Article 161" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Trianon/Part VIII|Treaty of Trianon, Article 161]]</ref><ref name="Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Article 121" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Neuilly/Part VII|Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Article 121]]</ref><ref name="Treaty of Sèvres, Article 231" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Sèvres/Part VIII|Treaty of Sèvres, Article 231]]</ref>}} 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 {{nowrap|1 May 1921}}. In the interim, the treaty required Germany to pay an equivalent of 20&nbsp;billion gold marks ($5&nbsp;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.{{sfn|Martel|2010|p=156}}<ref name="Articles 232–235" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part VIII|Articles 232–235]]</ref>

===Guarantees===
[[File:Rhineland.jpg|thumb|Location of the [[Rhineland]] (yellow)|alt=Map of northwest Europe showing France, Germany and the Low Countries. The Yellow area highlights the Rhineland of Germany.]]

To ensure compliance, the Rhineland and [[bridgehead]]s east of the Rhine were to be occupied by Allied troops for fifteen years.<ref name="Article 428" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part XIV|Article 428]]</ref>
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.<ref name="Article 429" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part XIV|Article 429]]</ref>
If Germany reneged on the treaty obligations, the bridgeheads would be reoccupied immediately.<ref name="Article 430" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part XIV|Article 430]]</ref>

===International organizations===
{{main|Covenant of the League of Nations|International Labour Organization#History}}

Part I of the treaty, in common with all the treaties signed during the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]],{{efn-lr|see [[s:Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye|The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[s:Treaty of Trianon|The Treaty of Trianon]], [[s:Treaty of Neuilly|The Treaty of Neuilly]], and [[s:Treaty of Sèvres|The Treaty of Sèvres.]]}} was the [[Covenant of the League of Nations]], which provided for the creation of the League, an organization for the arbitration of international disputes.<ref name="Part I" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part I|Part I]]</ref>
Part XIII organized the establishment of the [[International Labour Organization|International Labour Office]], to regulate hours of work, including a maximum working day and week; the regulation of the labour supply; the prevention of [[Unemployment in the United Kingdom|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.<ref name="Part XIII preamble and Article 388" group=n.>[[s:Constitution of the International Labour Office|Constitution of the International Labour Office Part XIII preamble and Article 388]]</ref>
The treaty also called for the signatories to sign or ratify the [[International Opium Convention]].<ref name="Article 295" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part X|Article 295]]</ref>

===War Crimes===
Article 227 of the Versailles treaty required the handing over of Kaiser Wilhelm for trial "for supreme offence against international treaties and the sanctity of treaties" before a bench of five allied judges – one British, one American, one French, one Italian, and one Japanese. If found guilty the judges were to "fix such punishment which it considers should be imposed".{{sfn|Gilbert|1974|p=276}} The death penalty was therefore not precluded.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=271}} Article 228 allowed the Allies to demand the extradition of German war criminals, who could be tried before military tribunals for crimes against "the laws and customs of war" under Article 229. To provide an evidentiary basis for such trials, Article 230 required the German government to transfer information and documents relevant to such trials.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=274}}

==Reactions==
===Britain===
[[File:Evening News placard Versailles Treaty signed June 28 1919.jpg|thumb|A British news placard announcing the signing of the peace treaty|upright|alt=An off white poster with bold black letters.]]

The delegates of the Commonwealth and British Government had mixed thoughts on the treaty, with some seeing the French policy as being greedy and vindictive.{{sfn|Lovin|1997|pp=9, 96}}{{sfn|Stevenson|1998|p=10}} Lloyd George and his private secretary [[Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian|Philip Kerr]] believed in the treaty, although they also felt that the French would keep Europe in a constant state of turmoil by attempting to enforce the treaty.{{sfn|Lovin|1997|pp=9, 96}} Delegate [[Harold Nicolson]] wrote "are we making a good peace?", while General [[Jan Smuts]] (a member of the [[Union of South Africa|South African]] delegation) wrote to Lloyd-George, before the signing, that the treaty was unstable and declared "Are we in our sober senses or suffering from shellshock? What has become of Wilson's 14 points?" He wanted the Germans not be made to sign at the "point of the bayonet".{{sfn|Lentin|2012|p=26}}{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=26}}
Smuts issued a statement condemning the treaty and regretting that the promises of "a new international order and a fairer, better world are not written in this treaty". Lord [[Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood|Robert Cecil]] said that many within the [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|Foreign Office]] were disappointed by the treaty.{{sfn|Lentin|2012|p=26}} The treaty received widespread approval from the general public. [[Bernadotte Everly Schmitt|Bernadotte Schmitt]] wrote that the "average Englishman ... thought Germany got only what it deserved" as a result of the treaty,{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=104}} but public opinion changed as German complaints mounted.{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=22}}

Former wartime British Prime Minister [[H. H. Asquith]] and the [[Independent Liberal Party (UK, 1918)|Independent Liberal]] opposition in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] after the [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918 general election]] believed the treaty was too punitive. Asquith campaigned against it while running for another [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] seat in the [[1920 Paisley by-election]].{{sfn|Campbell|2010|p=181}}

Prime Minister [[Ramsay MacDonald]], following the German [[Remilitarization of the Rhineland|re-militarisation of the Rhineland]] in 1936, stated that he was "pleased" that the treaty was "vanishing", expressing his hope that the French had been taught a "severe lesson".{{sfn|Stevenson|1998|p=10}}

==== Status of British Dominions ====
The Treaty of Versailles was an important step in the status of the [[Dominion|British Dominions]] under [[international law]]. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa had each made significant contributions to the British war effort, but as separate countries, rather than as British colonies. India also made a substantial troop contribution, although under direct British control, unlike the Dominions. The four Dominions and India all signed the Treaty separately from Britain,<ref name="Signatures and Protocol" group=n. /> a clear recognition by the international community that the Dominions were no longer British colonies. "Their status defied exact analysis by both international and constitutional lawyers, but it was clear that they were no longer regarded simply as colonies of Britain."{{sfn|Scott|1944|pp=34–49}} By signing the Treaty individually, the four Dominions and India also were [[Member states of the League of Nations#10 January 1920: founding members|founding members of the League of Nations]] in their own right, rather than simply as part of the British Empire.

===France===
The signing of the treaty was met with roars of approval, singing, and dancing from a crowd outside the Palace of Versailles. In Paris proper, people rejoiced at the official end of the war,{{sfn|Slavicek|2010|p=75}} the return of [[Alsace]] and [[Lorraine]] to France, and that Germany had agreed to pay reparations.{{sfn|Sontag|1971|p=22}}

While France ratified the treaty and was active in the League, the jubilant mood soon gave way to a political backlash for Clemenceau. The [[Politics of France#The Right|French Right]] saw the treaty as being too lenient and saw it as failing to achieve all of France's demands. [[Politics of France#The Left|Left]]-wing politicians attacked the treaty and Clemenceau for being too harsh (the latter turning into a ritual condemnation of the treaty, for politicians remarking on French foreign affairs, as late as August 1939). [[Marshal of France|Marshal]] [[Ferdinand Foch]] stated "this (treaty) is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years."; a criticism over the failure to annex the Rhineland and for compromising French security for the benefit of the United States and Britain.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=426}}{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=104}}{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=22}}{{sfn|Sontag|1971|p=22}}{{sfn|Tucker|1999|p=191}}{{sfn|Ripsman|2004|p=110}}{{sfn|Henig|1995|p=52}} When Clemenceau stood for election as [[President of France]] in January 1920, he was defeated.{{sfn|Henig|1995|p=52}}

===Italy===
Reaction in the [[Kingdom of Italy]] to the treaty was extremely negative. The country had suffered high casualties, yet failed to achieve most of its major war goals, notably gaining control of the [[Dalmatian coast]] and [[Fiume]]. President Wilson rejected Italy's claims on the basis of "national self-determination." For their part, Britain and France—who had been forced in the war's latter stages to divert their own troops to the Italian front to stave off collapse—were disinclined to support Italy's position at the peace conference. Differences in negotiating strategy between Premier [[Vittorio Orlando]] and Foreign Minister [[Sidney Sonnino]] further undermined Italy's position at the conference. A furious Vittorio Orlando suffered a nervous collapse and at one point walked out of the conference (though he later returned). He lost his position as prime minister just a week before the treaty was scheduled to be signed, effectively ending his active political career. Anger and dismay over the treaty's provisions helped pave the way for the establishment of [[Benito Mussolini]]'s [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist dictatorship]] three years later.

===Portugal===
[[Portugal in World War I|Portugal]] entered the war on the Allied side in 1916 primarily to ensure the security of its [[Portuguese Empire|African colonies]], which were threatened with seizure by both Britain and Germany. To this extent, she succeeded in her war aims. The treaty recognized Portuguese sovereignty over these areas and awarded her small portions of Germany's bordering overseas colonies, including the [[Kionga Triangle]]. Otherwise, Portugal gained little at the peace conference. Her promised share of German reparations never materialized, and a seat she coveted on the executive council of the new [[League of Nations]] went instead to [[Spain]]—which had remained neutral in the war. In the end, Portugal ratified the treaty, but got little out of the war, which cost more than 8,000 [[Portuguese Armed Forces]] troops and as many as 100,000 of her African colonial subjects their lives.{{sfn|de Meneses|n.d.}}

===United States===
[[File:Refusing to give the lady a seat - Rollin Kirby Trim.jpg|thumb|upright|Senators [[William Edgar Borah|Borah]], [[Henry Cabot Lodge|Lodge]] and [[Hiram Johnson|Johnson]] refuse Lady Peace a seat, referring to efforts by Republican isolationists to block ratification of the Treaty of Versailles establishing the [[League of Nations]].]]

After the Versailles conference, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson claimed that "at last the world knows America as the savior of the world!"{{efn-lr|President Woodrow Wilson speaking on the League of Nations to a luncheon audience in Portland OR. 66th Cong., 1st sess. Senate Documents: Addresses of President Wilson (May–November 1919), vol. 11, no. 120, p. 206.}} However, Wilson had refused to bring any leading members of the Republican party, led by [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], into the talks. The Republicans controlled the [[United States Senate]] after the election of 1918, and were outraged by Wilson's refusal to discuss the war with them. The senators were divided into multiple positions on the Versailles question. It proved possible to build a majority coalition, but impossible to build a two-thirds coalition that was needed to pass a treaty.{{sfn|Bailey|1945}}

A discontent bloc of 12–18 "[[Irreconcilables]]", mostly Republicans but also representatives of the Irish and German Democrats, fiercely opposed the treaty. One bloc of Democrats strongly supported the Versailles Treaty, even with reservations added by Lodge. A second group of Democrats supported the treaty but followed Wilson in opposing any amendments or reservations. The largest bloc, led by Senator Lodge,{{sfn|Widenor|1980}} comprised a majority of the Republicans. They wanted a treaty with "reservations", especially on Article 10, so that the League of Nations could not draw the US into war without the consent of the US Congress.{{sfn|Stone|1973}} All of the Irreconcilables were bitter enemies of President Wilson, and he launched a nationwide speaking tour in the summer of 1919 to refute them. But Wilson collapsed midway with a serious stroke that effectively ruined his leadership skills.{{sfn|Cooper|2011|loc=ch 22–23}}

The closest the treaty came to passage was on 19 November 1919, as Lodge and his Republicans formed a coalition with the pro-treaty Democrats, and were close to a two-thirds majority for a Treaty with reservations, but Wilson rejected this compromise and enough Democrats followed his lead to end the chances of ratification permanently. Among the American public as a whole, the Irish Catholics and the [[German Americans]] were intensely opposed to the treaty, saying it favored the British.{{sfn|Duff|1968|pp=582–598}}

After Wilson's presidency, his successor Republican President [[Warren G. Harding]] continued American opposition to the formation of the League of Nations. Congress subsequently passed the [[Knox–Porter Resolution]] bringing a formal end to hostilities between the United States and the [[Central Powers]]. It was signed into law by President Harding on 2 July 1921.{{sfn|Wimer|Wimer|1967|pp=13–24}}{{sfn|''The New York Times''|1921}} Soon after, the [[U.S.–German Peace Treaty (1921)|US–German Peace Treaty of 1921]] was signed in Berlin on 25 August 1921. Article 1 of this treaty obliged the German government to grant to the U.S. government all rights and privileges that were enjoyed by the other Allies that had ratified the Versailles treaty. Two similar treaties were signed with [[U.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty (1921)|Austria]] and [[U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty (1921)|Hungary]] on 24 and 29 August 1921, in Vienna and Budapest respectively.

====Edward House's views====
Wilson's former friend [[Edward Mandell House]], present at the negotiations, wrote in his diary on 29 June 1919:

<blockquote>I am leaving Paris, after eight fateful months, with conflicting emotions. Looking at the conference in retrospect, there is much to approve and yet much to regret. It is easy to say what should have been done, but more difficult to have found a way of doing it. To those who are saying that the treaty is bad and should never have been made and that it will involve Europe in infinite difficulties in its enforcement, I feel like admitting it. But I would also say in reply that empires cannot be shattered, and new states raised upon their ruins without disturbance. To create new boundaries is to create new troubles. The one follows the other. While I should have preferred a different peace, I doubt very much whether it could have been made, for the ingredients required for such a peace as I would have were lacking at Paris.{{sfn|Schiff|1996}}</blockquote>

===China===
Many in China felt betrayed as the German [[Concession (territory)|territory]] in China was handed to Japan. [[Wellington Koo]] refused to sign the treaty and the Chinese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference was the only nation that did not sign the Treaty of Versailles at the signing ceremony. The sense of betrayal led to great demonstrations in China such as the [[May Fourth Movement|May 4th movement]]. There was immense dissatisfaction with [[Duan Qirui]]'s government, which had secretly negotiated with the Japanese in order to secure loans to fund their military campaigns against the south. On 12 June 1919, the Chinese cabinet was forced to resign and the government instructed its delegation at Versailles not to sign the treaty.{{sfn|Dreyer|2015|p=60}}{{sfn|EB: May Fourth Movement}} As a result, relations with the [[Western world]] deteriorated.{{sfn|Arnander|Wood|2016}}

===Germany===
{{See also|Stab-in-the-back legend}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R01213, Versailles, deutsche Verhandlungdelegation.jpg|thumb|German delegates in Versailles: Professor [[Walther Schücking]], {{lang|de|Reichspostminister}} Johannes Giesberts, Justice Minister [[Otto Landsberg]], Foreign Minister [[Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau]], Prussian State President Robert Leinert, and financial advisor [[Carl Melchior]]]]

On 29 April, the German delegation under the leadership of the Foreign Minister [[Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau]] arrived in Versailles. On 7 May, when faced with the conditions dictated by the victors, including the so-called "[[War Guilt Clause]]", von Brockdorff-Rantzau replied to Clemenceau, Wilson and Lloyd George: "We can sense the full force of hatred that confronts us here.&nbsp;... You demand from us to confess we were the only guilty party of war; such a confession in my mouth would be a lie."{{efn-lr|"wir kennen die Wucht des Hasses, die uns hier entgegentritt&nbsp;...  Es wird von uns verlangt, daß wir uns als die allein Schuldigen am Kriege bekennen; ein solches Bekenntnis wäre in meinem Munde eine Lüge." {{harv|Weimarer Republik|n.d.}}}}
Because Germany was not allowed to take part in the negotiations, the German government issued a protest against what it considered to be unfair demands, and a "violation of honour", soon afterwards withdrawing from the proceedings of the peace conference.{{sfn|Woods|2019|p=18}}

Germans of all political shades denounced the treaty. The so-called "[[War Guilt Clause]]" that they saw as blaming Germany for starting the war was seen as an insult to the nation's honour. The clauses calling on the Germans to hand over alleged war criminals also caused deep offence, as many of those accused were seen as heroes, and also because the Allies were seen as applying one-sided justice.{{sfn|De Zayas|1989|p=5}}{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=281}} They referred to the treaty as "the ''[[Diktat]]''" since its terms were presented to Germany on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.{{sfn|Château de Versailles|2016}} Germany's first democratically elected head of government, [[Philipp Scheidemann]], resigned rather than sign the treaty. In an emotional and polemical address to the [[Weimar National Assembly]] on 12 May 1919, he called the treaty a "horrific and murderous witch's hammer",{{sfn|Probst|2019}} and exclaimed: {{blockquote|Which hand would not shrivel, that shackled itself and us in such a way?{{sfn|W-R: "shrivelled hand" speech}}{{sfn|Probst|2019}}}} At the end of his speech, Scheidemann stated that, in the government's opinion, the treaty was unacceptable.{{sfn|W-R: "shrivelled hand" speech}}

[[File:Mass demonstration in front of the Reichstag against the Treaty of Versailles.jpg|thumb|left|Demonstration against the treaty in front of the [[Reichstag building|''Reichstag'']]]]
After Scheidemann's resignation, a new coalition government was formed under [[Gustav Bauer]]. [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|President]] [[Friedrich Ebert]] knew that Germany was in an impossible situation. Although he shared his countrymen's disgust with the treaty, he was sober enough to consider the possibility that the government would not be in a position to reject it. He believed that if Germany refused to sign the treaty, the Allies would invade Germany from the west—and there was no guarantee that the army would be able to make a stand in the event of an invasion. With this in mind, he asked [[Field Marshal (Germany)|Field Marshal]] [[Paul von Hindenburg]] if the army was capable of any meaningful resistance in the event the Allies resumed the war. If there was even the slightest chance that the army could hold out, Ebert intended to recommend against ratifying the treaty. Hindenburg—after prodding from his chief of staff, [[Wilhelm Groener]]—concluded the army could not resume the war even on a limited scale. But rather than inform Ebert himself, he had Groener inform the government that the army would be in an untenable position in the event of renewed hostilities.{{sfn|Pinson|1964|pp=397 ff}}

Upon receiving Hindenburg's answer, the Bauer government recommended signing the treaty with the proviso that the "war-guilt" clause and the articles that required the extradition of war criminals and of the former Emperor be excluded. After the Allies refused anything other than full acceptance of the treaty, the National Assembly voted in favour of signing it by 237 to 138, with five abstentions (there were 421 delegates in total). The result was wired to Clemenceau just hours before the deadline. The Bauer government included the following statement with the acceptance:{{sfn|Hirschfeld|Krumeich|2013|pp=288–289}}<blockquote>The honour of the German people will not be affected by an act of violence. After the appalling suffering of the last four years, the German people lack any means to defend it externally. Therefore, yielding to overwhelming force and without abandoning its view of the outrageous injustice of the peace terms, the Government of the German Republic declares that it is prepared to accept and sign the peace terms imposed by the Allied and Associated Governments.</blockquote>

Foreign minister [[Hermann Müller (politician, born 1876)|Hermann Müller]] and colonial minister [[Johannes Bell]] travelled to Versailles to sign the treaty on behalf of Germany. The treaty was signed on 28 June 1919 and ratified by the National Assembly on 9 July by a vote of 209 to 116.{{sfn|Pinson|1964|pp=397 ff}}

===Japan===
[[File:Medal issued by Japan commemorating the Treaty of Versailles, struck 1919.jpg|thumb|right|Medal issued by the Japanese authorities in 1919, commemorating the Treaty of Versailles. '''Obv''': Flags of the five allies of World War&nbsp;I. '''Rev''': Peace standing in Oriental attire with the [[Palace of Versailles]] in the background]]

The disenfranchised and often colonized "non-white" world held high expectations that a new order would open up an unheralded opportunity to have a principle of racial equality recognized by the leading global powers.{{sfn|Lauren|1978|pp=257–278}} [[Diplomatic history of Japan|Japanese diplomacy]] had bitter memories of the rhetoric of the [[Yellow Peril]], and the arrogance, underwritten by the assumptions about a [[White Man's Burden]], memories aggravated by the rise of [[racial discrimination]] against their business men, severe immigration restrictions on Asiatics, and court judgments hostile to Japanese interests, which characterized Western states' treatment of their nationals.{{sfn|Lauren|1978|pp=257–278}} Japan's delegation, among whose plenipotentiaries figured [[Makino Nobuaki|Baron Makino]] and Ambassador [[Chinda Sutemi]], was led by its [[Genrō|elder statesman]] [[Saionji Kinmochi]].

Versailles represented a chance to overturn this imposed inferiority, whose tensions were strengthened particularly in [[Japan–United States relations|Japan's relationship with the United States]] during WW1.{{sfn|Lauren|1978|pp=257–278}} Confidence in their growing industrial strength, and conquest of [[Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory|Germany's Far East possessions]], together with their proven fidelity to the [[Allies of World War I|Entente]] would, it was thought, allow them finally to take their rightful place among the victorious Great Powers.{{sfn|Lauren|1978|pp=257–278}} They solicited support especially from the American delegation to obtain recognition for the principle of [[racial equality]] at the League of Nations Commission. Their proposals to this end were consistently rebuffed by British, French, American and Australian diplomats, who were all sensitive to their respective countries' internal pressures. Wilson himself was an enactor of [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregationist policies]] in the United States, Clemenceau openly ridiculed them, [[Arthur Balfour]] considered Africans inferior to Europeans – equality was only true of people within particular nations – while [[Billy Hughes|William Hughes]], adopting a "slap the Jap" attitude, was a vocal defender of a [[White Australia policy]].{{sfn|Lauren|1978|pp=257–278}}

Japan's attempt, buttressed by the Chinese emissary [[Wellington Koo]] among others, to incorporate a [[Racial Equality Proposal]] in the treaty, had broad support, but was effectively declined when it was rejected by the United States, Great Britain and Australia,{{sfn|Lauren|1978|pp=257–278}} despite a powerfully persuasive speech delivered by Makino.{{efn-lr|"The whole purpose of the league", began Makino, was "to regulate the conduct of nations and peoples toward one another, according to a higher moral standard than has reigned in the past, and to administer justice throughout the world." In this regard, the wrongs of racial discrimination have been, and continue to be, the source of "profound resentment on the part of large numbers of the human race", directly affecting their rights and their pride. Many nations fought in the recent war to create a new international order, he said, and the hopes of their nationals now have risen to new heights with victory. Given the objectives of the league, the wrongs of the past, and the aspirations of the future, stated Makino, the leaders of the world gathered in Paris should openly declare their support for at least "the principle of equality of nations and just treatment of their nationals" {{harv|Lauren|1978|p=270}}.}}

Japan itself both prior to and during WW1 had embarked on a vigorous expansion of continental colonialism, whose aims were justified in terms of uniting [[Asian people|Asians]], such as [[Koreans]] and [[Chinese people|Chinese]], who were seen as belonging to the same race and culture as the Japanese ({{lang|ja-Latn|dōbun dōshǖ}}: {{lang|ja|同文同種}}), though it was geared to subordinating them to Japan's interests in a [[paternalistic]] manner. Aspiring to be accepted as a world actor with similar status to the traditional Western powers, Japan envisaged an Asian [[Monroe Doctrine]], where Japan's proper sphere of geostrategic interests in Asia would be recognized. Some years earlier, Japan secured both British and French support for its claims to inherit rights that Germany had exercised both in China and in the [[Pacific Ocean]] north of the [[Equator]]. American policy experts, unaware of these secret agreements, nonetheless suggested that Japan had adopted a [[Prussia]]n model that would imperil China's own search for autonomy, and these considerations influenced Wilson.{{sfn|Kawamura|1997|pp=507–511}}

Nonetheless Japan emerged from the Treaty with territorial gains, including the [[Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory]] and all the territories of [[German New Guinea]] north of the Equator, forming the [[South Seas Mandate]].

==Implementation==
{{further|Aftermath of World War&nbsp;I}}

===Reparations===
{{main|World War&nbsp;I reparations}}

On 5 May 1921, the reparation Commission established the London Schedule of Payments and a final reparation sum of 132&nbsp;billion gold marks to be demanded of all the Central Powers. This was the public assessment of what the Central Powers combined could pay, and was also a compromise among Belgian, British, and French demands and assessments. Furthermore, the Commission recognized that the Central Powers could pay little and that the burden would fall upon Germany. As a result, the sum was split into different categories, of which Germany was only required to pay 50&nbsp;billion gold marks ({{US$|12.5}}&nbsp;billion); this being the genuine assessment of the commission on what Germany could pay, and allowed the Allied powers to save face with the public by presenting a higher figure. Furthermore, payments made between 1919 and 1921 of roughly 8 billion marks, most of it credit for state assets (e.g., German state railways in the Danzig corridor) transferred to Allied countries were taken into account reducing the sum to 41&nbsp;billion gold marks.{{sfn|Marks|1978|pp=236–237}}{{sfn|Ferguson|1998|p=414}}

In order to meet this sum, Germany could pay in cash or kind: coal, timber, chemical dyes, pharmaceuticals, livestock, agricultural machines, construction materials, and factory machinery. Germany's assistance with the restoration of the university library of [[Leuven]], which was destroyed by the Germans on 25 August 1914, was also credited towards the sum. Territorial changes imposed by the treaty were also factored in.{{sfn|Marks|1978|pp=223–234}}{{sfn|Kramer|2008|p=10}} The payment schedule required {{US$|250}}&nbsp;million within twenty-five days and then {{US$|500}}&nbsp;million annually, plus 26 per cent of the value of German exports. The German Government was to issue bonds at five per cent interest and set up a [[sinking fund]] of one per cent to support the payment of reparations.{{sfn|Martel|2010|p=156}}

===Territorial changes===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1985-010-10, Oppeln, Erwartung der Wahlergebnisse.jpg|thumb|A crowd awaits the plebiscite results in Oppeln|alt=A large number of people crowd outside a building.]]

In February and March 1920, the [[Schleswig Plebiscites]] were held. The people of Schleswig were presented with only two choices: Danish or German sovereignty. The northern [[Danish language|Danish]]-speaking area voted for Denmark while the southern [[German language|German]]-speaking area voted for Germany, resulting in the province being partitioned.{{sfn|Peckham|2003|p=107}} The [[East Prussia plebiscite]] was held on 11 July 1920. There was a {{nowrap|90% turn}} out with {{nowrap|99.3% of}} the population wishing to remain with Germany. Further plebiscites were held in [[Eupen-Malmedy]] and [[Neutral Moresnet]]. On 20 September 1920, the League of Nations allotted these territories to Belgium. These latter plebiscites were followed by a boundary commission in 1922, followed by the new [[Belgium–Germany border|Belgian-German border]] being recognized by the German Government on 15 December 1923.{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=xiii}}
The transfer of the [[Hlučín Region|Hultschin area]], of Silesia, to Czechoslovakia was completed on 3 February 1921.{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=xii}}

Following the implementation of the treaty, Upper Silesia was initially governed by Britain, France, and Italy.{{sfn|Ther|Siljak|2001|p=123}} Between 1919 and 1921, [[Silesian uprising|three major outbreaks of violence]] took place between German and Polish civilians, resulting in German and Polish military forces also becoming involved.{{sfn|Ther|Siljak|2001|p=123}}{{sfn|Bartov|Weitz|2013|p=490}}
In March 1921, the Inter-Allied Commission held the [[Upper Silesia plebiscite]], which was peaceful despite the previous violence. The plebiscite resulted in {{nowrap|c. 60 per cent of}} the population voting for the province to remain part of Germany.{{sfn|Bullivant|Giles|Pape|1999|pp=43–44}}
Following the vote, the League of Nations debated the future of the province.{{sfn|Albrecht-Carrie|1940|p=9}}
In 1922, Upper Silesia was partitioned: [[Opole|Oppeln]], in the north-west, remained with Germany while [[Silesian Voivodeship|Silesia Province]], in the south-east, was transferred to Poland.{{sfn|Ther|Siljak|2001|p=123}}

Memel remained under the authority of the League of Nations, with a [[French Armed Forces]] garrison, until January 1923.{{sfn|Steiner|2007|p=75}}
On 9 January 1923, the [[Lithuanian Army]] invaded the territory during the [[Klaipėda Revolt]].{{sfn|Lemkin|Schabas|Power|2008|p=198}}
The French garrison withdrew, and in February the Allies agreed to attach Memel as an "autonomous territory" to Lithuania.{{sfn|Steiner|2007|p=75}} On 8 May 1924, after negotiations between the Lithuanian Government and the [[Conference of Ambassadors]] and action by the League of Nations, the annexation of Memel was ratified.{{sfn|Lemkin|Schabas|Power|2008|p=198}} Lithuania accepted the [[Klaipėda Convention|Memel Statute]], a power-sharing arrangement to protect non-Lithuanians in the territory and its autonomous status while responsibility for the territory remained with the great powers. The League of Nations mediated between the Germans and Lithuanians on a local level, helping the power-sharing arrangement last [[1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania|until 1939]].{{sfn|Steiner|2007|p=75}}

On 13 January 1935, 15 years after the Saar Basin had been placed under the protection of the League of Nations, a plebiscite was held to determine the future of the area. {{nowrap|528,105 votes}} were cast, with {{nowrap|477,119 votes}} ({{nowrap|90 per cent of}} the ballot) in favour of union with Germany; {{nowrap|46,613 votes}} were cast for the status quo, and {{nowrap|2,124 votes}} for union with France. The region returned to German sovereignty on 1 March 1935. When the result was announced {{nowrap|4,100 people,}} including {{nowrap|800 refugees}} from Germany fled to France.<ref name="Articles 45 and 49" group=n. />{{sfn|Russell|1951|pp=103–106}}

===Rhineland occupation===
{{main|Occupation of the Rhineland}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R09876, Ruhrbesetzung.jpg|thumb|French soldiers in the Ruhr, which resulted in the American withdrawal from the Rhineland|alt=A soldier, on the right, faces a civilian, on the left. A second soldier, far center, walks towards the two.]]

In late 1918, American, Belgian, British, and French troops entered the Rhineland to enforce the armistice.{{sfn|Martel|1999|p=18}} Before the treaty, the occupation force stood at roughly 740,000 men.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=84}}{{sfn|Liverman|1996|p=92}}{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=78}} Following the signing of the peace treaty, the numbers drastically decreased and by 1926 the occupation force numbered only 76,000 men.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=117}}
As part of the 1929 negotiations that would become the [[Young Plan]], [[Gustav Stresemann]], and [[Aristide Briand]] negotiated the early withdrawal of Allied forces from the Rhineland.{{sfn|Mommsen|Foster|1988|p=273}}
On 30 June 1930, after speeches and the lowering of flags, the last troops of the Anglo-French-Belgian occupation force withdrew from Germany.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|pp=181–182}}

Belgium maintained an occupation force of roughly 10,000 troops throughout the initial years.{{sfn|Liverman|1996|p=92}}
This figure fell to 7,102 by 1926, and continued to fall as a result of diplomatic developments.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=117}}{{sfn|Jacobson|1972|p=135}}

The British [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]], with some 275,000 veteran soldiers, entered Germany in late 1918.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=2}} In March 1919, this force became the [[British Army of the Rhine]] (BAOR). The total number of troops committed to the occupation rapidly dwindled as veteran soldiers were demobilized, and were replaced by inexperienced men who had finished basic training following the cessation of hostilities.{{sfn|Williamson|2017|pp=19, 245}}
By 1920, the BAOR consisted of only 40,594 men and the following year had been further reduced to 12,421. The size of the BAOR fluctuated over the following years, but never rose above 9,000 men.{{sfn|Edmonds|1943|p=147}} The British did not adhere to all obligated territorial withdrawals as dictated by Versailles, on account of Germany not meeting her own treaty obligations.{{sfn|Williamson|2017|pp=246–247}}
A complete withdrawal was considered, but rejected in order to maintain a presence to continue acting as a check on French ambitions and prevent the establishment of an autonomous [[Rhineland Republic]].{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=94}}

The French Army of the Rhine was initially 250,000 men strong, including at a peak 40,000 African colonial troops ({{lang|fr|[[Troupes coloniales]]}}). By 1923, the French occupation force had decreased to roughly 130,000 men, including 27,126 African troops.{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=78}}
The troop numbers peaked again at 250,000 during the occupation of the Ruhr, before decreasing to 60,000 men by 1926.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=117}}{{sfn|McDougall|1978|p=155}} Germans viewed the use of French colonial troops as a deliberate act of humiliation, and used their presence to create a propaganda campaign dubbed the [[Black Horror on the Rhine|Black Shame]]. This campaign lasted throughout the 1920s and 30s, although peaked in 1920 and 1921. For example, a 1921 German Government memo detailed 300 acts of violence from colonial troops, which included 65 murders and 170 sexual offenses. Historical consensus is that the charges were exaggerated for political and propaganda purposes, and that the colonial troops behaved far better than their white counterparts.{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=78}} An estimated 500–800 [[Rhineland Bastard]]s were born as a result of fraternization between colonial troops and German women, and who would later be persecuted.{{sfn|Appiah|Gates|2005|p=781}}

The [[United States Third Army]] entered Germany with {{nowrap|200,000 men}}. In June 1919, the Third Army demobilized and by 1920 the US occupation force had been reduced to {{nowrap|15,000 men}}.{{sfn|Baker|2004|p=21}}{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=84}} Wilson further reduced the garrison to {{nowrap|6,500 men}}, before [[Warren G. Harding]]'s inauguration in 1921.{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=84}} On 7 January 1923, after the Franco–Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, the US senate legislated the withdrawal of the remaining force.{{sfn|Mommsen|Foster|1988|p=129}}{{sfn|Pawley|2008|p=87}}
On 24 January, the American garrison started their withdrawal from the Rhineland, with the final troops leaving in early February.{{sfn|Nelson|1975|pp=251–252}}

==Violations==
===Reparations===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1987-0922-500, Wien, Heldenplatz, Rede Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Adolf Hitler]] announcing the ''[[Anschluss|Anschluß]]'' in violation of Art. 80 on the [[Heldenplatz]], Vienna, 15 March 1938]]

In June 1921 Germany made the first cash payment of 1 billion gold marks due under the London Schedule of Payments. However, this was the only full payment of cash made under the unamended schedule, and from then until the Dawes plan began operation in late 1924 only small cash payments were made. Whilst in-kind payments of goods such as coal and timber were made throughout 1922, these were never paid in full, and in December 1922 Germany was declared in default of timber deliveries by a 3-to-1 vote of the Reparations Commission, the British representative casting the sole opposing vote. On 9 January of the following year, after Germany had defaulted either partially or wholly on coal deliveries for the thirty-fourth time in thirty-six months, the Reparations Commission also declared Germany in default of coal reparations and authorised the occupation of [[Ruhr|the Ruhr]] coalfields in order to secure the deliveries, again with the British representative casting the sole opposing vote and all other votes being in favour.{{sfn|Marks|1978}}

In a move that was condemned by the British, French, Belgian, and Italian engineers supported by French and Belgian forces occupied the [[Ruhr|Ruhr area]] on 11 January 1923. The German government answered with "[[Nonviolent resistance|passive resistance]]", which meant that coal miners and railway workers refused to obey any instructions by the occupation forces. Production and transportation came to a standstill, but the financial consequences, including the payment in paper currency of striking workers by the German government, contributed to [[Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic|German hyperinflation]] in the period from late 1921 to 1924. Consequently, passive resistance was called off in late 1923. The end of passive resistance in the Ruhr allowed Germany to undertake a currency reform and to negotiate the [[Dawes Plan]], which led to the withdrawal of French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr Area in 1925. The agreement of the Dawes plan in late 1924 also led to a resumption of reparations payments in hard cash and gold. Total receipts from the Ruhr occupation summed to 900 million gold marks.{{sfn|EB: Ruhr occupation}}{{sfn|Marks|1978}}

From the agreement of the Dawes Plan in late 1924 until July 1931 when payment was suspended under a proposal by [[Herbert Hoover]] as a result of the [[Great Depression]], reparations payments were made regularly and on time both in cash and in-kind, though always slightly less than was required under the plan. The one year suspension of payments under the [[Hoover Moratorium]] was to be converted into a permanent moratorium according to a proposal created at the [[Lausanne Conference of 1932]], however the agreement was never ratified.{{sfn|Marks|1978}} The government of Adolf Hitler declared all further payments cancelled in 1933, and no further reparations payments were made until after the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Germany finally paid off its debts under the Versailles treaty, which had been reduced by 50% at the 1953 London Debt Conference, in 2010.{{sfn|Blakemore|2019}}

===Military===
In 1920, the head of the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} [[Hans von Seeckt]] clandestinely re-established the General Staff, by expanding the ''[[Truppenamt]]'' (Troop Office); purportedly a human resources section of the army.{{sfn|Zaloga|2002|p=13}}{{sfn|Geyer|1984}} In March, {{nowrap|18,000}} German troops entered the Rhineland under the guise of attempting to quell possible unrest by the [[Communist Party of Germany]] and in doing so violated the demilitarized zone. In response, French troops advanced farther into Germany until the German troops withdrew.{{sfn|Shuster|2006|pp=112, 114}}

German officials conspired systematically to evade the clauses of the treaty, by failing to meet disarmament deadlines, refusing Allied officials access to military facilities, and maintaining and hiding weapon production.{{sfn|Shuster|2006|pp=112, 114}} As the treaty did not ban German companies from producing war material outside of Germany, companies moved to the [[Netherlands]], [[Switzerland]], and [[Sweden]]. [[Bofors]] was bought by [[Krupp]], and in 1921 German troops were sent to Sweden to test weapons.{{sfn|Shuster|2006|p=116}}
The establishment of diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, via the [[Genoa Conference (1922)|Genoa Conference]] and [[Treaty of Rapallo (1922)|Treaty of Rapallo]], was also used to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles. Publicly, these diplomatic exchanges were largely in regards to trade and future economic cooperation. But secret military clauses were included that allowed for Germany to develop weapons inside the Soviet Union. Furthermore, it allowed for Germany to establish three training areas for aviation, chemical and tank warfare.{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=133}}{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2005|p=967}} In 1923, the British newspaper ''[[The Times]]'' made several claims about the state of the German Armed Forces: that it had equipment for {{nowrap|800,000 men}}, was transferring army staff to civilian positions in order to obscure their real duties, and warned of the militarization of the German police force by the exploitation of the [[Krümper system]].{{sfn|Shuster|2006|p=120}} {{efn-lr|On 8 March 1936, {{nowrap|22,700 armed}} policemen were incorporated into the army in 21 infantry battalions {{harv|Bell|1997|p=234}}.}}

The Weimar Government also funded domestic rearmament programs, which were covertly funded with the money camouflaged in "X-budgets", worth up to an additional {{nowrap|10% of}} the disclosed military budget.{{sfn|Hantke|Spoerer|2010|p=852}}
By 1925, German companies had begun to design tanks and modern artillery. During the year, over half of Chinese arms imports were German and worth 13&nbsp;million ''Reichsmarks.'' In January 1927, following the withdrawal of the Allied [[Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control|disarmament committee]], Krupps ramped up production of armor plate and artillery.{{sfn|Kirby|1984|p=25}}{{sfn|Kirby|1984|p=220}}
{{efn-lr|[[Gustav Krupp]] later claimed he had duped the Allies throughout the 1920s and prepared the German military for the future {{harv|Shuster|2006|p=116}}.}} Production increased so that by 1937, military exports had increased to {{nowrap|82,788,604}} ''Reichsmarks''.{{sfn|Kirby|1984|p=25}}{{sfn|Kirby|1984|p=220}} Production was not the only violation: "Volunteers" were rapidly passed through the army to make a pool of trained reserves, and paramilitary organizations were encouraged with the illegally militarized police. Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were not limited by the treaty, thus this loophole was exploited and as such the number of NCOs were vastly in excess to the number needed by the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}}.{{sfn|Mowat|1968|p=235}}

In December 1931, the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} finalized a second rearmament plan that called for 480&nbsp;million ''Reichsmarks'' to be spent over the following five years: this program sought to provide Germany the capability of creating and supplying a defensive force of 21 divisions supported by aircraft, artillery, and tanks. This coincided with a 1&nbsp;billion ''Reichsmark'' programme that planned for additional industrial infrastructure that would be able to permanently maintain this force. As these programs did not require an expansion of the military, they were nominally legal.{{sfn|Tooze|2007|p=26}}
On 7 November 1932, the [[List of German defence ministers|Reich Minister of Defense]] [[Kurt von Schleicher]] authorized the illegal {{lang|de|Umbau}} Plan for a standing army of 21 divisions based on {{nowrap|147,000 professional}} soldiers and a large militia.{{sfn|Tooze|2007|p=26}} Later in the year at the [[World Disarmament Conference]], Germany withdrew to force France and Britain to accept German equality of status.{{sfn|Tooze|2007|p=26}} London attempted to get Germany to return with the promise of all nations maintaining an equality in armaments and security. The British later proposed and agreed to an increase in the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} to {{nowrap|200,000}} men, and for Germany to have an air force half the size of the French. It was also negotiated for the French Army to be reduced.{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=229}}

In October 1933, following the [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power|rise of Adolf Hitler]] and the founding of the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi regime]], Germany withdrew from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference. In March 1935, Germany reintroduced conscription followed by an open [[German re-armament|rearmament]] programme and the official unveiling of the [[Luftwaffe]] (air force), and signed the [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]] that allowed a surface fleet {{nowrap|35% of}} the size of the Royal Navy.{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=78}}{{sfn|Corrigan|2011|p=68}}{{sfn|Fischer|1995|p=408}} The resulting rearmament programmes were allotted 35&nbsp;billion ''Reichsmarks'' over an eight-year period.{{sfn|Tooze|2007|p=53}}

===Territorial===
On 7 March 1936, German troops entered and remilitarized the Rhineland.{{sfn|Bell|1997|pp=233–234}}
On 12 March 1938, following German pressure to the collapse of the Austrian Government, German troops crossed into Austria and the following day Hitler announced the ''[[Anschluss]]'': the annexation of Austria by Germany.{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=254}}
The following year, on 23 March 1939, Germany annexed Memel from Lithuania.{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=281}}

===War criminals===
{{main|Leipzig war crimes trials}}
[[File:HangTheKaiser.png|thumb|Front cover of a book of sheet music entitled "We're Going To Hang The Kaiser Under The Linden Tree"]]

Despite "hang the Kaiser" being a popular slogan of the time, particularly in Britain, the proposed trial of the Kaiser under Article 227 of the Versailles treaty never took place. Defying popular British anger at the Kaiser, and the fact that putting the Kaiser on trial was originally a British proposal,{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=268}} Lloyd George refused to support French calls for the Kaiser to be extradited from the Netherlands where he was living in exile. The Dutch authorities refused extradition, and the former Kaiser died there in 1941.{{sfn|Gilbert|1974|p=276}}

Article 228 allowed for the extradition of German war criminals to stand trial before Allied tribunals. Originally a list of as many of 20,000 alleged criminals was prepared by the Allies, however this was later reduced. Following the ratification of the treaty in January 1920, the Allies submitted a request that 890 (or 895) alleged war criminals be extradited for trial. France and Belgium each requested the extradition of 334 individuals including [[Paul von Hindenburg|von Hindenburg]] and [[Erich Ludendorff|Ludendorff]] for the damages they had inflicted on Belgium and the mass deportations they had overseen from both France and Belgium. Britain submitted a list of 94 names, including [[Alfred von Tirpitz|von Tirpitz]] for the sinkings of civilian shipping by German U-boats. Italy's request included 29 names divided between those accused of mistreating prisoners of war and those responsible for U-Boat sinkings. Romania requested the extradition of 41 individuals including [[August von Mackensen|von Mackensen]]. Poland requested 51 people be extradited, and Yugoslavia (successor to wartime Serbia) four. Germany refused extradition, however, claiming that carrying out such a request to extradite people widely regarded as heroes in Germany would likely result in the fall of the government, but made a counter-offer of holding trials at Leipzig, an offer that was ultimately accepted by the Allies.{{sfn|''Current History''|1920|pp=373–380}}{{sfn|Mullins|1921|pp=8–9}}{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|pp=281–282}}

After subsequent negotiation, the list of alleged war criminals submitted by the Allies for trial at Leipzig was reduced to 45, however, this ultimately also ended up being too many for the German authorities, and in the end only 12 officers were put on trial – six from the British list, five from the French one, and one from the Belgian list. The British list included only low-level officers and enlisted men, including a prison-guard accused of beating prisoners of war and two U-Boat commanders who sank hospital ships (the [[HMHS Dover Castle|Dover Castle]] and the [[HMHS Llandovery Castle|Llandovery Castle]]). In contrast the French list were all high-ranking officials, including Lieutenant-General Karl Stenger, who was accused of massacring French prisoners of war. The Belgian case involved a man accused of mistreating and imprisoning Belgian children. However, when the Germans announced that the trial would be under German law, with the German prosecutor being able to exercise [[prosecutorial discretion]], the French and Belgians withdrew from the process in protest. Only half of the cases led to conviction, with [[Superior orders|superior orders being allowed as a defence]] in the Dover Castle case, and in mitigation in the Llandovery Castle case where the officer responsible had massacred seamen in lifeboats. All but one of the people put forward by the French were acquitted, including Karl Stenger, who was showered with flowers by German spectators. The Belgian case was also acquitted.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|pp=281–284}}

The Commission of Allied Jurists responded to these proceedings on 22 January 1922 by declaring that the Leipzig court had failed to carry out its mandate by failing to convict accused who should have been convicted, and by showing excessive leniency even where people had been convicted. The Allied Jurists recommended that extradition of war criminals be requested under Article 228. However, no further extradition request was made, though trials were held in France and Belgium of German war criminals ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]''.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=285}}

==Historical assessments==
[[File:Keynes 1933.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[John Maynard Keynes]], the principal representative of the British Treasury, denounced the Treaty as a "[[Carthaginian peace]]".|alt=A sitted man looks on the side.]]

Historians are split on the impact of the treaty. Some saw it as a good solution in a difficult time, others saw it as a disastrous measure that would anger the Germans to seek revenge. The actual impact of the treaty is also disputed.{{sfn|TNA: The Great War 1914 to 1918|n.d.}}

In his book ''[[The Economic Consequences of the Peace]]'', John Maynard Keynes referred to the Treaty of Versailles as a "[[Carthaginian peace]]", a misguided attempt to destroy Germany on behalf of French [[revanchism]], rather than to follow the fairer principles for a lasting peace set out in Wilson's Fourteen Points, which Germany had accepted at the armistice. He stated: "I believe that the campaign for securing out of Germany the general costs of the war was one of the most serious acts of political unwisdom for which our statesmen have ever been responsible."{{sfn|Keynes|1920}}
Keynes had been the principal representative of the British Treasury at the Paris Peace Conference, and used in his passionate book arguments that he and others (including some US officials) had used at Paris.{{sfn|Markwell|2006}} He believed the sums being asked of Germany in reparations were many times more than it was possible for Germany to pay, and that these would produce drastic instability.{{efn-lr|"The Treaty includes no provisions for the economic rehabilitation of Europe—nothing to make the defeated Central Empires into good neighbours, nothing to stabilize the new States of Europe, nothing to reclaim Russia; nor does it promote in any way a compact of economic solidarity amongst the Allies themselves; no arrangement was reached at Paris for restoring the disordered finances of France and Italy, or to adjust the systems of the Old World and the New. The Council of Four paid no attention to these issues, being preoccupied with others—Clemenceau to crush the economic life of his enemy, Lloyd George to do a deal and bring home something which would pass muster for a week, the President to do nothing that was not just and right. It is an extraordinary fact that the fundamental economic problems of a Europe starving and disintegrating before their eyes, was the one question in which it was impossible to arouse the interest of the Four. Reparation was their main excursion into the economic field, and they settled it as a problem of theology, of polities, of electoral chicane, from every point of view except that of the economic future of the States whose destiny they were handling." {{harvcol|Keynes|1919}}}}

[[File:Commemorative medal issued on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles.jpg|thumb|Commemorative medal issued in 1929 in Germany on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles. The obverse depicts [[Georges Clemenceau]] presenting a bound treaty, decorated with skull and crossbones to [[Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau]]. Other members of the Conference are standing behind Clemenceau, including Lloyd-George, Wilson and Orlando.]]

French economist [[Étienne Mantoux]] disputed that analysis. During the 1940s, Mantoux wrote a posthumously published book titled ''The Carthaginian Peace, or the Economic Consequences of Mr. Keynes'' in an attempt to rebut Keynes' claims. More recently economists have argued that the restriction of Germany to a small army saved it so much money it could afford the reparations payments.{{sfn|Hantke|Spoerer|2010|pp=849–864}}

It has been argued—for instance by historian [[Gerhard Weinberg]] in his book ''A World at Arms''{{sfn|Reynolds|1994}}—that the treaty was in fact quite advantageous to Germany. The Bismarckian Reich was maintained as a political unit instead of being broken up, and Germany largely escaped post-war military occupation (in contrast to the situation following World War&nbsp;II). In a 1995 essay, Weinberg noted that with the disappearance of [[Austria-Hungary]] and with Russia withdrawn from Europe, that Germany was now the dominant power in [[Eastern Europe]].{{sfn|Weinberg|2008|p=16}}

The British military historian [[Correlli Barnett]] argued that the Treaty of Versailles was "extremely lenient in comparison with the [[Septemberprogramm|peace terms]] that Germany herself, when she was expecting to win the war, had had in mind to impose on the Allies". Furthermore, he said, it was "hardly a slap on the wrist" when contrasted with the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] that Germany had imposed on a defeated [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] in March 1918, which had taken away a third of Russia's population (albeit mostly of non-[[Russian people|Russian]] ethnicity), one-half of Russia's industrial undertakings and nine-tenths of Russia's coal mines, coupled with an [[indemnity]] of six billion [[German Papiermark|marks]].{{sfn|Barnett|2002|p=392}} Eventually, even under the "cruel" terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany's economy had been restored to its pre-war status.

Barnett also argues that, in strategic terms, Germany was in fact in a superior position following the Treaty than she had been in 1914. Germany's eastern frontiers faced Russia and Austria, who had both in the past balanced German power. Barnett asserts that its post-war eastern borders were safer, because the former [[Austrian Empire]] fractured after the war into smaller, weaker states, Russia was wracked by [[Russian Revolution|revolution]] and [[Russian Civil War|civil war]], and the newly restored Poland was no match for even a defeated Germany. In the West, Germany was balanced only by France and [[Belgium (1918–40)|Belgium]], both of which were smaller in population and less economically vibrant than Germany. Barnett concludes by saying that instead of weakening Germany, the treaty "much enhanced" German power.{{sfn|Barnett|1986|p=316}}
Britain and France should have (according to Barnett) "divided and permanently weakened" Germany by undoing Bismarck's work and partitioning Germany into smaller, weaker states so it could never have disrupted the peace of Europe again.{{sfn|Barnett|1986|p=318}}
By failing to do this and therefore not solving the problem of German power and restoring the equilibrium of Europe, Britain "had failed in her main purpose in taking part in the Great War".{{sfn|Barnett|1986|p=319}}
[[File:Treaty of Versailles Reparations -- Let's see you collect.png|thumb|American political cartoon depicting the contemporary view of German reparations, 1921|upright]]
The British historian of modern Germany [[Richard J. Evans]] wrote that during the war the [[Conservatism in Germany|German right]] was committed to an annexationist program which aimed at Germany annexing most of Europe and Africa. Consequently, any peace treaty that did not leave Germany as the conqueror would be unacceptable to them.{{sfn|Evans|1989|p=107}} Short of allowing Germany to keep all the conquests of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Evans argued that there was nothing that could have been done to persuade the German right to accept Versailles.{{sfn|Evans|1989|p=107}} Evans further noted that the parties of the [[Weimar Coalition]], namely the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD), the [[social liberalism|social liberal]] [[German Democratic Party]] (DDP) and the [[Christian democracy|Christian democratic]] [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]], were all equally opposed to Versailles, and it is false to say as some historians have that opposition to Versailles also equalled opposition to the [[Weimar Republic]].{{sfn|Evans|1989|p=107}} Finally, Evans argued that it is untrue that Versailles caused the premature end of the Republic, instead contending that it was the [[Great Depression]] of the early 1930s that put an end to German democracy. He also argued that Versailles was not the "main cause" of [[Nazism|National Socialism]] and the German economy was "only marginally influenced by the impact of reparations".{{sfn|Evans|1989|p=107}}

[[Ewa Thompson]] points out that the treaty allowed numerous nations in Central and Eastern Europe to liberate themselves from oppressive German rule, a fact that is often neglected by Western historiography, more interested in understanding the German point of view. In nations that found themselves free as the result of the treaty—such as [[Polish people|Poles]] or [[Czechs]]—it is seen as a symbol of recognition of wrongs committed against small nations by their much larger aggressive neighbours.{{sfn|Thompson|n.d.}}

Resentment caused by the treaty sowed fertile psychological ground for the eventual rise of the [[Nazi Party]],{{sfn|BBC Bitesize}} but the German-born Australian historian Jürgen Tampke argued that it was "a perfidious distortion of history" to argue that the terms prevented the growth of democracy in Germany and aided the growth of the Nazi Party; saying that its terms were not as punitive as often held and that German hyper-inflation in the 1920s was partly a deliberate policy to minimise the cost of reparations. As an example of the arguments against the {{lang|de|Versaillerdiktat}} he quotes Elizabeth Wiskemann who heard two officer's widows in Wiesbaden complaining that "with their stocks of linen depleted they had to have their linen washed once a fortnight (every two weeks) instead of once a month!"{{sfn|Tampke|2017|pp=vii, xii}}

The German historian [[Detlev Peukert]] wrote that Versailles was far from the impossible peace that most Germans claimed it was during the [[interwar period]], and though not without flaws was actually quite reasonable to Germany.{{sfn|Peukert|1992|p=278}} Rather, Peukert argued that it was widely believed in Germany that Versailles was a totally unreasonable treaty, and it was this "perception" rather than the "reality" of the Versailles treaty that mattered.{{sfn|Peukert|1992|p=278}} Peukert noted that because of the "[[Millenarianism|millenarian hopes]]" created in Germany during World War&nbsp;I when for a time it appeared that Germany was on the verge of conquering all of Europe, any peace treaty the Allies of World War&nbsp;I imposed on the defeated ''[[German Reich]]'' were bound to create a nationalist backlash, and there was nothing the Allies could have done to avoid that backlash.{{sfn|Peukert|1992|p=278}} Having noted that much, Peukert commented that the policy of [[rapprochement]] with the Western powers that Gustav Stresemann carried out between 1923 and 1929 were constructive policies that might have allowed Germany to play a more positive role in Europe, and that it was not true that German democracy was doomed to die in 1919 because of Versailles.{{sfn|Peukert|1992|p=278}} Finally, Peukert argued that it was the Great Depression and the turn to a nationalist policy of [[autarky]] within Germany at the same time that finished off the Weimar Republic, not the Treaty of Versailles.{{sfn|Peukert|1992|p=278}}

French historian Raymond Cartier states that millions of ethnic Germans in the [[Sudetenland]] and in [[Posen-West Prussia]] were placed under foreign rule in a hostile environment, where harassment and violation of rights by authorities are documented.{{efn-lr|name=Cartier|Raymond Cartier, ''La Seconde Guerre mondiale'', Paris, Larousse Paris Match, 1965, quoted in {{harvnb|Groppe|2004}}.}}
Cartier asserts that, out of 1,058,000 Germans in Posen-West Prussia in 1921, 758,867 fled their homelands within five years due to Polish harassment.{{efn-lr|name=Cartier}} These sharpening ethnic conflicts would lead to public demands to reattach the annexed territory in 1938 and become a pretext for Hitler's annexations of [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia]] and parts of [[History of Poland (1939–1945)|Poland]].{{efn-lr|name=Cartier}}

According to [[David Stevenson (historian)|David Stevenson]], since the opening of French archives, most commentators have remarked on French restraint and reasonableness at the conference, though Stevenson notes that "[t]he jury is still out", and that "there have been signs that the pendulum of judgement is swinging back the other way."{{sfn|Stevenson|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7xZFKfQHAtMC&dq=%22in+contrast+with+earlier+indictments+most+commentators+since+the+1970s+have+been+impressed+by+french+moderation+and+defensiveness%22&pg=PA11 11]}}

===Territorial changes===
[[File:Map Europe 1923-en.svg|thumb|Map of territorial changes in Europe after World War&nbsp;I (as of 1923)]]

The Treaty of Versailles resulted in the creation of several thousand miles of new boundaries, with maps playing a central role in the negotiations at Paris.{{sfn|Kent|2019|pp=275–279}}{{sfn|Altic|2016|pp=179–198}} The plebiscites initiated due to the treaty have drawn much comment. Historian Robert Peckham wrote that the issue of Schleswig "was premised on a gross simplification of the region's history. ... Versailles ignored any possibility of there being a third way: the kind of compact represented by the Swiss Federation; a bilingual or even trilingual Schleswig-Holsteinian state" or other options such as "a Schleswigian state in a loose confederation with Denmark or Germany, or an autonomous region under the protection of the League of Nations."{{sfn|Ingrao|Szabo|2007|p=262}}
In regard to the East Prussia plebiscite, historian Richard Blanke wrote that "no other contested ethnic group has ever, under un-coerced conditions, issued so one-sided a statement of its national preference".{{sfn|Ingrao|Szabo|2007|p=262}} Richard Debo wrote "both Berlin and Warsaw believed the [[Polish–Soviet War|Soviet invasion of Poland]] had influenced the East Prussian plebiscites. Poland appeared so close to collapse that even Polish voters had cast their ballots for Germany".{{sfn|Debo|1992|p=335}}

In regard to the Silesian plebiscite, Blanke observed "given that the electorate was at least 60% Polish-speaking, this means that about one 'Pole' in three voted for Germany" and "most Polish observers and historians" have concluded that the outcome of the plebiscite was due to "unfair German advantages of incumbency and socio-economic position". Blanke alleged "coercion of various kinds even in the face of an allied occupation regime" occurred, and that Germany granted votes to those "who had been born in Upper Silesia but no longer resided there". Blanke concluded that despite these protests "there is plenty of other evidence, including Reichstag election results both before and after 1921 and the large-scale emigration of Polish-speaking Upper Silesians to Germany after 1945, that their identification with Germany in 1921 was neither exceptional nor temporary" and "here was a large population of Germans and Poles—not coincidentally, of the same Catholic religion—that not only shared the same living space but also came in many cases to see themselves as members of the same national community".{{sfn|Bullivant|Giles|Pape|1999|pp=43–44}} Prince [[Eustachy Sapieha]], the Polish [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Poland)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]], alleged that Soviet Russia "appeared to be intentionally delaying negotiations" to end the Polish-Soviet War "with the object of influencing the Upper Silesian plebiscite".{{sfn|Debo|1992|p=335}} Once the region was partitioned, both "Germany and Poland attempted to 'cleanse' their shares of Upper Silesia" via oppression resulting in Germans migrating to Germany and Poles migrating to Poland. Despite the oppression and migration, Opole Silesia "remained ethnically mixed."{{sfn|Ther|Siljak|2001|p=123}}

Frank Russell wrote that, in regard to the Saar plebiscite, the inhabitants "were not terrorized at the polls" and the "totalitarian [Nazi] German regime was not distasteful to most of the Saar inhabitants and that they preferred it even to an efficient, economical, and benevolent international rule." When the outcome of the vote became known, 4,100 (including 800 refugees who had previously fled Germany) residents fled over the border into France.{{sfn|Russell|1951|pp=103–106}}

===Military terms and violations===
During the formulation of the treaty, the British wanted Germany to abolish conscription but be allowed to maintain a volunteer Army. The French wanted Germany to maintain a conscript army of up to 200,000 men in order to justify their own maintenance of a similar force. Thus the treaty's allowance of 100,000 volunteers was a compromise between the British and French positions. Germany, on the other hand, saw the terms as leaving them defenseless against any potential enemy.{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|pp=104–105}}
Bernadotte Everly Schmitt wrote that "there is no reason to believe that the Allied governments were insincere when they stated at the beginning of Part V of the Treaty ... that in order to facilitate a general reduction of the armament of all nations, Germany was to be required to disarm first." A lack of American ratification of the treaty or joining the League of Nations left France unwilling to disarm, which resulted in a German desire to rearm.{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=104}} Schmitt argued "had the four Allies remained united, they could have forced Germany really to disarm, and the German will and capacity to resist other provisions of the treaty would have correspondingly diminished."{{sfn|Schmitt|1960|p=108}}

Max Hantke and Mark Spoerer wrote "military and economic historians [have] found that the German military only insignificantly exceeded the limits" of the treaty before 1933.{{sfn|Hantke|Spoerer|2010|p=852}} [[Adam Tooze]] concurred, and wrote "To put this in perspective, annual military spending by the Weimar Republic was counted not in the billions but in the hundreds of millions of ''Reichsmarks''"; for example, the Weimar Republic's 1931 program of 480&nbsp;million ''Reichsmarks'' over five years compared to the Nazi Government's 1933 plan to spend 4.4&nbsp;billion ''Reichsmarks'' per year.{{sfn|Tooze|2007|pp=26, 53–54}}
P. M. H. Bell argued that the British Government was aware of later Weimar rearming, and lent public respectability to the German efforts by not opposing them,{{sfn|Bell|1997|p=229}} an opinion shared by Churchill.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}
[[Norman Davies]] wrote that "a curious oversight" of the military restrictions were that they "did not include rockets in its list of prohibited weapons", which provided [[Wernher von Braun]] an area to research within eventually resulting in "his break [that] came in 1943" leading to the development of the [[V-2 rocket]].{{sfn|Davies|2007|p=416}}

=== Rise of the Nazis ===
The Treaty created much resentment in Germany, which was exploited by [[Adolf Hitler]] in his rise to power at the helm of Nazi Germany. Central to this was belief in the [[stab-in-the-back myth]], which held that the German army had not lost the war and had been betrayed by the Weimar Republic, who negotiated an unnecessary surrender. The Great Depression exacerbated the issue and led to a collapse of the German economy. Though the treaty may not have caused the crash, it was a convenient scapegoat. Germans viewed the treaty as a humiliation and eagerly listened to Hitler's oratory which blamed the treaty for Germany's ills. Hitler promised to reverse the depredations of the Allied powers and recover Germany's lost territory and pride, which has led to the treaty being cited as a [[Causes of World War II|cause of World War&nbsp;II]].{{sfn|Wilde|2020}}{{sfn|Kent|2019|pp=275–279}}{{failed verification|date=March 2022}}

[[Hermann Göring]] first met Adolf Hitler at a speech which Hitler gave at a rally against French demands for the extradition of alleged German war criminals under the Versailles treaty.{{sfn|Bassiouni|2002|p=268}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Politics|Law}}
* [[Aftermath of World War&nbsp;I]]
* [[Little Treaty of Versailles]]
* [[Minority Treaties]]
* ''[[Septemberprogramm]]''

==Notes==
===Footnotes===
{{notelist-lr}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

{{hatnote|The following citations are direct links to primary sources held on [[Wikisource]]. Unless otherwise stated, links are to the Treaty of Versailles.}}
{{Reflist|22em|group=n.}}

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*{{Cite book| title = Cambridge History of the British Empire Volume 3, The Empire Commonwealth 1870–1919 (volume 3)
 | editor1-last = Benians | editor1-first = Ernest Alfred | editor1-link = Ernest Alfred Benians
 | editor2-last = Butler | editor2-first = James | editor2-link = J. R. M. Butler
 | editor3-last = Carrington | editor3-first = C. E. | editor3-link = C. E. Carrington
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 1959
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | isbn = 978-052104-512-4
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Germany After the First World War
 | last = Bessel | first = Richard | year = 1993
 | author-link = Richard Bessel
 | publisher = Oxford University Press, US
 | isbn = 978-019821-938-5
}}
*{{cite journal
 | title = Germany's World War I Debt Was So Crushing It Took 92 Years to Pay Off
 | last = Blakemore
 | first = Erin
 | journal = History
 | url = https://www.history.com/news/germany-world-war-i-debt-treaty-versailles
 | date = 27 June 2019
 | archive-date = 17 September 2021
 | access-date = 28 February 2024
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210917075943/https://www.history.com/news/germany-world-war-i-debt-treaty-versailles
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Versailles: A Reassessment after 75 Years
 | editor1-last = Boemeke | editor1-first = Manfred F.
 | editor2-last = Feldman | editor2-first = Gerald D. | editor2-link = Gerald Feldman
 | editor3-last = Glaser | editor3-first = Elisabeth
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 1998
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | series = Publications of the German Historical Institute
 | isbn = 978-052162-132-8
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, Volume 2: From 1865
 | last1 = Boyer | first1 = Paul S.
 | last2 = Clark | first2 = Clifford E.
 | last3 = Hawley | first3 = Sandra
 | last4 = Kett | first4 = Joseph F
 | last5 = Rieser | first5 = Andrew
 | author1-link = Paul Boyer (historian)
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2009
 | publisher = Cengage Learning
 | isbn = 978-054722-278-3
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = The Treaty of Versailles, 1919: A Primary Source Examination of the Treaty That Ended World War I
 | last = Brezina
 | first = Corona
 | year = 2006
 | publisher = Rosen Central
 | series = Primary Sources of American Treaties
 | url = https://archive.org/details/treatyofversaill00brez
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | isbn = 978-140420-442-3
 }}
*{{Cite encyclopedia| title = Eupen-Malmedy
 | last = Brüll | first = Christoph
 | encyclopedia = 1914–1918 Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War
 | editor1-last = Daniel | editor1-first = Ute
 | editor2-last = Gatrell | editor2-first = Peter
 | editor3-last = Janz | editor3-first = Oliver
 | editor4-last = Jones | editor4-first = Heather
 | editor5-last = Keene | editor5-first = Jennifer
 | editor6-last = Kramer | editor6-first = Alan
 | editor7-last = Nasson | editor7-first = Bill
 | name-list-style = amp
 | publisher = Freie Universität Berlin | location = Berlin
 | date = 8 October 2014
 | doi = 10.15463/ie1418.10212
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Germany and Eastern Europe: Cultural Identities and Cultural Differences
 | editor1-last = Bullivant | editor1-first = Keith
 | editor2-last = Giles | editor2-first = Geoffrey
 | editor3-last = Pape | editor3-first = Walter
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 1999
 | publisher = Rodopi Bv Editions
 | series = Yearbook of European Studies
 | isbn = 978-90-420-0688-1
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Pistols at Dawn: Two Hundred Years of Political Rivalry from Pitt and Fox to Blair and Brown
 | last = Campbell
 | first = John
 | year = 2010
 | publisher = Vintage
 | location = London
 | url = https://archive.org/details/pistolsatdawntwo0000camp/13960/t6wx5mm07
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | page = 181
 | isbn = 978-1-84595-091-0
 | oclc = 489636152
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Clemenceau an Deutschland: "Die Stunde der Abrechnung ist da."
 | trans-title = Clemenceau to Germany: "The day of reckoning is here"
 | last = <!-- not stated -->
 | website = Die Weimarer Republik: Deutschlands erste Demokratie
 | language = de
 | publisher = Weimarer Republik e.V.
 | url = https://www.weimarer-republik.net/jubilaeum/revolution-und-gruendung-der-republik-tag-fuer-tag/mai-1919/clemenceau-an-deutschland-die-stunde-der-abrechnung-ist-da
 | date = n.d.
 | access-date = 21 January 2021
 | ref = {{harvid|Weimarer Republik|n.d.}}
 | archive-date = 18 May 2021
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210518082044/https://www.weimarer-republik.net/jubilaeum/revolution-und-gruendung-der-republik-tag-fuer-tag/mai-1919/clemenceau-an-deutschland-die-stunde-der-abrechnung-ist-da/
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The Propaganda War in the Rhineland: Weimar Germany, Race and Occupation after World War I
 | last = Collar | first = Peter | year = 2012
 | publisher = I.B. Tauris | location = London
 | page = 78
 | isbn = 978-1-84885-946-3
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Woodrow Wilson: A Biography
 | last = Cooper
 | first = John Milton
 | year = 2011
 | author-link = John M. Cooper (historian)
 | publisher = Vintage Books
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xOZVsyO4K2cC&pg=PA422
 | pages = 422–424
 | isbn = 978-0-307-27790-9
 }}
*{{Cite book
 | title = The Second World War: A Military History
 | last = Corrigan
 | first = Gordon
 | year = 2011
 | author-link = Gordon Corrigan
 | publisher = Thomas Dunne Books
 | url = https://archive.org/details/secondworldwarmi0000corr_o7z3
 | url-access = registration
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | isbn = 978-031-257709-4
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Europe at War 1939-1945: No Simple Victory
 | last = Davies | first = Norman | year = 2007
 | author-link = Norman Davies
 | publisher = Pan Books
 | isbn = 978-033035-212-3
}}
*{{cite book| title = U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security: Chronology and Index for the 20th Century
 | editor-last = Davis | editor-first = Robert T.
 | year = 2010
 | publisher = Praeger Security International | location = Santa Barbara, California
 | volume = 1 | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=gsM1JiXAMJEC 49]
 | isbn = 978-0-313-38385-4
}}
*{{cite book
 | title = The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau, 1939-1945
 | last = De Zayas
 | first = Alfred M.
 | year = 1989
 | publisher = University of Nebraska Press
 | url = https://archive.org/details/wehrmachtwarcrim0000alfr/page/4/mode/2up?q=%22Karl+Stenger%22
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | access-date = 2 March 2024
 | page = 5
 | isbn = 0-8032-1680-7
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918–1921
 | last = Debo | first = Richard K. | year = 1992
 | publisher = Mcgill Queens University Press, First Edition
 | isbn = 978-0-7735-0828-6
}}
*{{Cite news| title = Die Finanzierung des Lebensmittels
 | trans-title = Paying for food imports
 | newspaper = Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
 | language = de
 | date = 2 February 1919
 | ref = {{harvid|''Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung''|1919}}
}}
*{{cite book
 | title = China's Political System
 | last = Dreyer
 | first = June Teufel
 | year = 2015
 | publisher = Routledge
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 | page = 60
 | isbn = 978-1-317-34964-8
 }}
*{{Citation| title = The Versailles Treaty and the Irish-Americans
 | last = Duff | first = John B. | year = 1968
 | author-link = John B. Duff
 | journal = The Journal of American History
 | volume = 55 | issue = 3 | pages = 582–598
 | doi = 10.2307/1891015 | jstor = 1891015
}}
*{{cite book| title = The Occupation of the Rhineland 1918–29
 | last = Edmonds | first = J.E. | year = 1987
 | author-link = James Edward Edmonds
 | orig-year = First published 1943
 | publisher = [[HMSO]]
 | isbn = 978-0-11-290454-0
 | ref = {{harvid|Edmonds|1943}}
}}
*{{Cite book | title = In Hitler's Shadow: West German Historians and the Attempt to Escape from the Nazi Past | edition = First | last = Evans | first = Richard J. | year = 1989 | author-link = Richard J. Evans | publisher = Pantheon Books | url = https://archive.org/details/inhitlersshadow00rich | url-access = registration | via = [[Internet Archive]] | isbn = 978-067972-348-6 }}
*{{cite book| title = The Pity of War: Explaining World War I
 | last = Ferguson | first = Niall | year = 1998
 | author-link = Niall Ferguson
 | publisher = [[Allen Lane]]
 | isbn = 978-0-713-99246-5
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Nazi Germany: A New History
 | last = Fischer | first = Klaus P. | year = 1995
 | publisher = Constable
 | page = 408
 | isbn = 978-0-09-474910-8
}}
*{{cite book| title = Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy from World War I through World War II
 | last1 = Folly | first1 = Martin
 | last2 = Palmer | first2 = Niall
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2010
 | publisher = Scarecrow Press
 | series = Historical Dictionaries of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations
 | isbn = 978-081085-606-6
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture
 | editor-last = Frucht
 | editor-first = Richard
 | year = 2004
 | publisher = ABC-CLIO
 | url = https://archive.org/details/easterneuropeint0000unse
 | url-access = registration
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | isbn = 978-157607-800-6
 }}
*{{cite book| title = The Second World War, 1939–45 A Strategical And Tactical History
 | last = Fuller | first = J.F.C. | year = 1993
 | publisher = Da Capo Press
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}}
*{{Cite book| title = Deutsche Rüstungspolitik 1860 bis 1980
 | last = Geyer | first = Michael | year = 1984
 | author-link = Michael Geyer
 | publisher = Suhrkamp | location = Frankfurt
 | language = de
 | isbn = 978-3-518-11246-5
}}
*{{cite book| title = History of World War 1
 | last = Gilbert | first = Martin | year = 1974
 | author-link = Martin Gilbert
 | editor-last = Taylor | editor-first = AJP | editor-link = AJP Taylor
 | publisher = Octopus Books
 | page = 276
 | isbn = 0-7064-0398-3
}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = The Great War 1914 to 1918
 | publisher = [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]
 | url = https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/greatwar/g5/cs2/background.htm
 | access-date = 7 April 2020
 | ref = {{harvid|TNA: The Great War 1914 to 1918|n.d.}}
 | archive-date = 14 December 2017
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 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The Cost of the World War to Germany and Austria-Hungary
 | last = Grebler | first = Leo | year = 1940
 | publisher = Yale University Press
 | page = 78
}}
*{{cite news
 | title = Die "Jagd auf Deutsche" im Osten: Die Verfolgung begann nicht erst mit dem "Bromberger Blutsonntag" vor 50 Jahren
 | last = Groppe
 | first = Pater Lothar
 | newspaper = Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung
 | language = de
 | quote = {{lang|de|italic=no|'Von 1.058.000 Deutschen, die noch 1921 in Posen und Westpreußen lebten', ist bei Cartier zu lesen, 'waren bis 1926 unter polnischem Druck 758.867 abgewandert. Nach weiterer Drangsal wurde das volksdeutsche Bevölkerungselement vom Warschauer Innenministerium am 15. Juli 1939 auf weniger als 300.000 Menschen geschätzt.'}}
 | url = http://www.webarchiv-server.de/pin/archiv04/3504paz38.htm
 | date = 28 August 2004
 | access-date = 22 September 2010
 | archive-date = 29 July 2010
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 }}
*{{Cite book
 | title = The Cambridge Historical Encyclopedia of Great Britain and Ireland
 | editor-last = Haigh
 | editor-first = Christopher
 | editor-link = Christopher Haigh
 | year = 1990
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
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 | url-access = registration
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | isbn = 978-052139-552-6
 }}
*{{Citation
 | title = The imposed gift of Versailles: the fiscal effects of restricting the size of Germany's armed forces, 1924–9
 | last1 = Hantke
 | first1 = Max
 | last2 = Spoerer
 | first2 = Mark
 | name-list-style = amp
 | journal = Economic History Review
 | via = MPRA: Munich Personal RePEc Archive
 | year = 2010
 | volume = 63
 | issue = 4
 | pages = 849–864
 | url = https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/20054/1/MPRA_paper_20054.pdf
 | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00512.x
 | s2cid = 91180171
 | access-date = 9 August 2019
 | archive-date = 30 July 2022
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 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The First World War, 1914–1918
 | last = Hardach | first = Gerd | year = 1987
 | publisher = Penguin
 | isbn = 978-014022-679-9
}}
*{{cite news
 | title = Harding Ends War; Signs Peace Decree at Senator's Home. Thirty Persons Witness Momentous Act in Frelinghuysen Living Room at Raritan
 | last = <!-- not stated -->
 | newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B13F63C5D14738DDDAA0894DF405B818EF1D3
 | date = 3 July 1921
 | ref = {{harvid|''The New York Times''|1921}}
 | archive-date = 4 December 2013
 | access-date = 17 September 2017
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131204011723/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10B13F63C5D14738DDDAA0894DF405B818EF1D3
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Versailles and After: 1919–1933
 | last = Henig
 | first = Ruth
 | year = 1995
 | author-link = Ruth Henig, Baroness Henig
 | orig-year = First published 1984
 | publisher = Routledge
 | location = London
 | url = https://archive.org/details/versaillesafter10000heni/page/n5/mode/2up
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 | isbn = 978-0-415-12710-3
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Deutschland im Ersten Weltkrieg | edition = Kindle 
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 | last2 = Krumeich | first2 = Gerd 
 | year = 2013 
 | publisher = Fischer E-Books | location = Frankfurt 
 | isbn = 978-3-104-02489-9 
 | language = de | trans-title = Germany in the First World War
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Germans and the East
 | editor1-last = Ingrao | editor1-first = Charles | editor1-link = Charles Ingrao
 | editor2-last = Szabo | editor2-first = Franz A.J.
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 | year = 2007
 | publisher = Purdue University Press
 | isbn = 978-155753-443-9
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Locarno Diplomacy: Germany and the West, 1925–1929
 | last = Jacobson | first = Jon | year = 1972
 | publisher = Princeton University Press
 | page = 135
 | isbn = 0-691-05190-9
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = Wilsonian Idealism and Japanese Claims at the Paris Peace Conference
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 | date = November 1997 | volume = 66 | number = 4 | pages = 503–526
 | doi = 10.2307/3642235 | jstor = 3642235 | s2cid = 154956368
}}
*{{cite journal | title = A Picture and an Argument: Mapping for Peace with a Cartography of Hope
 | last = Kent | first = Alexander
 | journal = The Cartographic Journal
 | year = 2019 | volume = 56 | issue = 4 | pages = 275–279
 | bibcode = 2019CartJ..56..275K | doi = 10.1080/00087041.2019.1694804
 | doi-access = free
}}
*{{cite book
 | title = The Legacy of the Great War: Peacemaking, 1919
 | last = Keylor
 | first = William R.
 | year = 1998
 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin
 | location = Boston and New York
 | url = http://www.h-france.net/vol1reviews/blatt2.html
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224204/http://www.h-france.net/vol1reviews/blatt2.html
 | archive-date = 4 October 2013
 | page = 34
 | isbn = 0-669-41711-4
 }}
*{{cite book
 | chapter = Europe after the treaty
 | last = Keynes
 | first = John Maynard
 | year = 1919
 | author-link = John Maynard Keynes
 | title = The Economic Consequences of the Peace
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 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The Economic Consequences of the Peace
 | last = Keynes | first = John Maynard | year = 1920
 | author-link = John Maynard Keynes
 | publisher = Harcourt Brace and Howe
}}
*{{cite book
 | title = War crimes: a historical overview
 | last = Kim
 | first = Henry H.
 | year = 2000
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 }}
*{{Cite book| title = German and Republican China
 | last = Kirby | first = William C. | year = 1984
 | author-link = William C. Kirby
 | publisher = Stanford University Press
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}}
*{{cite book| title = Dynamic of Destruction: Culture and Mass Killing in the First World War
 | last = Kramer | first = Alan | year = 2008
 | publisher = [[Penguin Group|Penguin]]
 | series = The Making of the Modern World
 | isbn = 978-1-846-14013-6
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = Human Rights in History: Diplomacy and Racial Equality at the Paris Peace Conference
 | last = Lauren | first = Paul Gordon
 | journal = [[Diplomatic History (journal)|Diplomatic History]]
 | date = Summer 1978 | volume = 2 | number = 3 | pages = 257–278
 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-7709.1978.tb00435.x | jstor = 24909920 | s2cid = 154765654
}}
*{{Cite book| chapter = Kant or Cant: The Myth of the Democratic Peace
 | last = Layne | first = Christopher | year = 1996
 | author-link = Christopher Layne
 | title = Debating the Democratic Peace
 | editor1-last = Brown | editor1-first = Michael E. | editor1-link = Michael E. Brown (political scientist)
 | editor2-last = Lynn-Jones | editor2-first = Sean M.
 | editor3-last = Miller | editor3-first = Steve E.
 | name-list-style = amp
 | publisher = [[MIT Press]]
 | series = International Security Readers
 | isbn = 978-026252-213-7
}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Lebensmittelabkommen in Brüssel
 | language = de
 | publisher = [[German Federal Archives|Das Bundesarchiv]]
 | url = https://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/1000/sch/sch1p/kap1_2/kap2_17/para3_1.html
 | url-status = dead
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 | archive-date = 11 July 2016
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 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress
 | last1 = Lemkin | first1 = Raphael
 | last2 = Schabas | first2 = William A.
 | last3 = Power | first3 = Samantha
 | author1-link = Raphael Lemkin
 | author2-link = William Schabas
 | author3-link = Samantha Power
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 | year = 2008
 | publisher = The Lawbook Exchange, Lrd 2 edition
 | series = Foundations of the Laws of War
 | isbn = 978-158477-901-8
}}
*{{cite book| title = Guilt at Versailles: Lloyd George and the Pre-history of Appeasement
 | last = Lentin | first = Antony | year = 1985
 | orig-year = First published 1984
 | publisher = Routledge
 | page = 84
 | isbn = 978-0-416-41130-0
}}
*{{Citation| title = Trick or Treat? The Anglo-French Alliance, 1919
 | last = Lentin | first = Antony | year = 1992
 | magazine = History Today
 | volume = 42 | issue = 12 | pages = 28–32
 | id = {{ProQuest|1299048769}}
}}
*{{Citation
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 | year = 2012
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 | volume = 62
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 | pages = 20–27
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 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Does Conquest Pay?: The Exploitation of Occupied Industrial Societies
 | last = Liverman | first = Peter | year = 1996
 | publisher = Princeton University Press
 | page = 92
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}}
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 | last = Lovin | first = Clifford R. | year = 1997
 | publisher = University Press of America
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}}
*{{Citation| title = The Myths of Reparations
 | last = Marks | first = Sally | year = 1978
 | journal = Central European History
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 | doi = 10.1017/S0008938900018707 | jstor = 4545835 | s2cid = 144072556
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*{{Cite journal | title = Mistakes and Myths: The Allies, Germany, and the Versailles Treaty, 1918–1921 | last = Marks | first = Sally | journal = Journal of Modern History | year = 2013 | volume = 85 | issue = 3 | pages = 632–659 | url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/670825 | doi = 10.1086/670825 | jstor = 10.1086/670825 | s2cid = 154166326 | archive-date = 10 April 2022 | access-date = 9 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220410143642/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/670825 | url-status = live | url-access = subscription }}
*{{cite book| title = John Maynard Keynes and International Relations: Economic Paths to War and Peace
 | last = Markwell | first = Donald | year = 2006
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 | publisher = Oxford University Press
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}}
*{{Cite book | title = Origins of the Second World War Reconsidered | edition = 2nd | editor-last = Martel | editor-first = Gordon | editor-link = Gordon Martel | year = 1999 | publisher = Routledge | location = London | url = https://archive.org/details/originsofsecondw00gord_0 | url-access = registration | via = [[Internet Archive]] | isbn = 978-0-415-16325-5 }}
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}}
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}}
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 | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Britannica
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*{{Cite book| title = France's Rhineland Policy, 1914–1924: The Last Bid for a Balance of Power in Europe
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 | publisher = Princeton University Press
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}}
*{{Citation| title = Political Economy versus National Sovereignty: French Structures for German Economic Integration after Versailles
 | last = McDougall | first = Walter A. | year = 1979
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}}
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 | title = Post-war Settlement (Portugal)
 | last = de Meneses
 | first = Filipe Ribeiro
 | author-link = Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses
 | encyclopedia = 1914–1918 Online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War
 | editor1-last = Rollo
 | editor1-first = Maria Fernanda
 | editor2-last = Pires
 | editor2-first = Ana Paula
 | name-list-style = amp
 | url = https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/post-war_settlement_portugal
 | date = n.d.
 | doi = 10.15463/ie1418.10521
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy
 | last1 = Mommsen | first1 = Hans
 | last2 = Foster | first2 = Elborg
 | author1-link = Hans Mommsen
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 1988
 | publisher = University of North Carolina Press
 | isbn = 978-0-8078-4721-3
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Volume XII: The Shifting Balance of World Forces 1898-1945
 | editor-last = Mowat | editor-first = C. L. | editor-link = C. L. Mowat
 | year = 1968
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | series = The New Cambridge Modern History
 | isbn = 978-052104-551-3
}}
*{{cite book
 | title = The Leipzeig trials; an account of the war criminals' trials and a study of German mentality (sic)
 | last = Mullins
 | first = Claude
 | year = 1921
 | publisher = H.F. & G. Weatherby
 | pages = 8–9
 | url = https://archive.org/details/leipzeigtrialsac00mull/page/8/mode/2up
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | access-date = 2 March 2024
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Victors divided: America and the Allies in Germany, 1918–1923
 | last = Nelson | first = Keith L. | year = 1975
 | publisher = University of California Press
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The politics of hunger: the allied blockade of Germany, 1915–1919
 | last = Paul | first = C. | year = 1985
 | publisher = Ohio University Press | location = Athens, Ohio
 | page = 145
 | isbn = 978-0-8214-0831-5
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Watch on the Rhine: The Military Occupation of the Rhineland
 | last = Pawley | first = Margaret | year = 2008
 | publisher = I.B. Tauris
 | isbn = 978-1-84511-457-2
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Rethinking Heritage: Cultures and Politics in Europe
 | editor-last = Peckham | editor-first = Robert Shannan
 | year = 2003
 | publisher = I.B. Tauris
 | isbn = 978-186064-796-3
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Weimar Republic: The Crisis of Classical Modernity
 | last = Peukert | first = Detlev | year = 1992
 | author-link = Detlev Peukert
 | others = Translated by Richard Deveson
 | publisher = Hill & Wang
 | page = 278
 | isbn = 978-0-8090-9674-9
}}
*{{cite book| title = Modern Germany: Its History and Civilization | edition = 13th printing
 | last = Pinson | first = Koppel S. | year = 1964
 | author-link = Koppel Pinson
 | publisher = Macmillan | location = New York
 | pages = 397 ff
 | isbn = 0-88133-434-0
}}
*{{Cite news
 | title = 'Wir kennen die Wucht des Hasses'
 | trans-title = We can feel the strength of hatred
 | last = Probst
 | first = Robert
 | newspaper = [[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]
 | language = de
 | url = https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/versailles-vertrag-weltkrieg-1.4501451
 | date = 28 June 2019
 | access-date = 20 January 2021
 | archive-date = 7 November 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201107234552/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/versailles-vertrag-weltkrieg-1.4501451
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite journal | title = PUNISHING WAR CRIMINALS: Holland Refuses Extradition of ex-Kaiser—Allies Agree to Trial of 890 Others at Leipsic (sic)
 | journal = Current History
 | publisher = University of California Press
 | date = 18 February 1920 | volume = 11 | issue = 3 | pages = 373–380
 | jstor = 45325166
 | ref = {{harvid|''Current History''|1920}}
}}
*{{cite journal
 | title = Le rôle de l'impératrice Eugénie en septembre et octobre 1870
 | last = Reinach
 | first = Joseph
 | author-link = Joseph Reinach
 | journal = Revue d'Histoire du XIXe siècle – 1848
 | publisher = Société d'Histoire de la Révolution de 1848
 | year = 1920
 | volume = 17
 | issue = 85
 | page = 193
 | language = fr
 | url = https://www.persee.fr/doc/r1848_1155-8806_1920_num_17_85_1652
 | doi = 10.3406/r1848.1920.1652
 | archive-date = 9 August 2022
 | access-date = 11 March 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220809153004/https://www.persee.fr/doc/r1848_1155-8806_1920_num_17_85_1652
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite news
 | title = Review of "A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II"
 | last = Reynolds
 | first = David
 | author-link = David Reynolds (historian)
 | newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903EED81438F933A15751C0A962958260
 | date = 20 February 1994
 | archive-date = 16 December 2008
 | access-date = 17 September 2017
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081216133956/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903EED81438F933A15751C0A962958260
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Peacemaking by Democracies: The Effect of State Autonomy on the Post-World War Settlements
 | last = Ripsman | first = Norrin M. | year = 2004
 | publisher = Pennsylvania State University Press
 | isbn = 978-027102-398-4
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 7 c. 1905–c. 1940
 | editor-last = Roberts
 | editor-first = A.D.
 | year = 1986
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zywkdNMeltkC
 | isbn = 978-052122-505-2
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Hungerblockade und Heimatfront: Die kommunale Lebensmittelversorgung in Westfalen während des Ersten Weltkrieges
 | trans-title = The hunger blockade and the home front: communal food supply in Westphalia during World War&nbsp;I
 | last = Roerkohl | first = Anne | year = 1991
 | publisher = Franz Steiner | location = Stuttgart
 | language = de
 | page = 348
 | isbn = 978-3-515-05661-8
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = Von der Blockde und Aehlichen
 | last = Rubner | first = Max
 | journal = [[Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift]]
 | location = Berlin
 | date = 10 April 1919 | volume = 45 | issue = 15 | page = 15
 | doi = 10.1055/s-0028-1137673 | s2cid = 72845627
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Die Wohlfahrtsstadt: Kommunale Ernährungs-, Fürsorge, und Wohnungspolitik am Beispiel Münchens 1910–1933
 | last = Rudloff | first = Wilfried | year = 1998
 | publisher = Vandenhooeck & Ruprecht | location = Göttingen
 | language = de
 | series = Schriftenreihe der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Bd. 63
 | page = 184
 | isbn = 3-525-36056-8
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia
 | title = Ruhr occupation
 | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Britannica
 | url = https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ruhr-occupation
 | ref = {{harvid|EB: Ruhr occupation}}
 | access-date = 28 June 2019
 | archive-date = 14 April 2023
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230414115718/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ruhr-occupation
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The Saar: Battleground and Pawn | edition = First
 | last = Russell | first = Frank M. | year = 1951
 | publisher = Stanford University Press
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = The Trial of the Kaiser
 | last = Schabas
 | first = William A.
 | year = 2018
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | url = https://academic.oup.com/book/26614
 | isbn = 978-0-19-187244-0
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Scheidemann: "Welche Hand müßte nicht verdorren, die sich und uns in diese Fesseln legt?"
 | trans-title = Scheidemann: "Which hand would not shrivel, that shackled itself and us in such a way?"
 | last = <!-- not stated -->
 | website = Die Weimarer Republik: Deutschlands erste Demokratie
 | language = de
 | publisher = Weimarer Republik e.V.
 | url = https://www.weimarer-republik.net/jubilaeum/revolution-und-gruendung-der-republik-tag-fuer-tag/
 | date = n.d.
 | access-date = 4 February 2021
 | ref = {{harvid|W-R: "shrivelled hand" speech}}
 | archive-date = 10 December 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201210123456/https://www.weimarer-republik.net/jubilaeum/revolution-und-gruendung-der-republik-tag-fuer-tag/
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Bibliographical Introduction to "Diary, Reminiscences and Memories of Colonel Edward M. House"
 | last = Schiff
 | first = Judith Ann
 | publisher = Yale University Library and Social Science Statistical Laboratory
 | url = http://www.library.yale.edu/un/house/biblio.htm
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091223181024/http://www.library.yale.edu/un/house/biblio.htm
 | date = 1 August 1996
 | archive-date = 23 December 2009
 }}
*{{Citation| title = The Peace Treaties of 1919–1920
 | last = Schmitt | first = Bernadotte | year = 1960
 | author-link = Bernadotte Everly Schmitt
 | journal = Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
 | volume = 104 | issue = 1 | pages = 101–110
 | jstor = 985606
}}
*{{cite journal | title = The End of Dominion Status
 | last = Scott | first = F. R.
 | journal = The American Journal of International Law
 | date = January 1944 | volume = 38 | issue = 1 | pages = 34–49
 | doi = 10.2307/2192530 | jstor = 2192530 | s2cid = 147122057
}}
*{{Cite book| title = German Disarmament After World War I: The Diplomacy of International Arms Inspection 1912–1931
 | last = Shuster | first = Richard | year = 2006
 | publisher = Routledge
 | series = Strategy and History
 | isbn = 978-0-415-35808-8
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The First World War: Volume 3 The Western Front 1917–1918
 | last = Simkins | first = Peter | year = 2002
 | publisher = Osprey Publishing
 | isbn = 978-184176-348-4
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The First World War: The War to End All Wars
 | last1 = Simkins | first1 = Peter
 | last2 = Jukes | first2 = Geoffrey
 | last3 = Hickey | first3 = Michael
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2003
 | publisher = Osprey Publishing
 | isbn = 978-184176-738-3
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Treaty of Versailles
 | last = Slavicek | first = Louise Chipley | year = 2010
 | publisher = Chelsea House Publications
 | series = Milestones in Modern World History
 | isbn = 978-160413-277-9
}}
*{{cite book | title = A Broken World, 1919-1939 | last = Sontag | first = Richard | year = 1971 | publisher = Harper and Row | location = Michigan | url = https://archive.org/details/brokenworld1919100sont | url-access = registration | via = [[Internet Archive]] | isbn = 978-0-06-131651-7 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Collective Preventive Diplomacy: A Study in International Conflict Management
 | last = Steiner | first = Barry H. | year = 2007
 | publisher = State University of New York Press
 | series = Suny Series in Global Politics
 | isbn = 978-0-7914-5988-1
}}
*{{Cite book| chapter = France at the Paris Peace Conference: Addressing the Dilemmas of Security
 | last = Stevenson | first = David | year = 1998
 | author-link = David Stevenson (historian)
 | title = French Foreign and Defence Policy, 1918–1940: The Decline and Fall of a Great Power
 | publisher = Routledge | location = New York
 | series = Routledge Studies in Modern European History
 | isbn = 978-0-415-15039-2
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Irreconcilables: The Fight Against the League of Nations
 | last = Stone | first = Ralph A. | year = 1973
 | publisher = W.W. Norton & Co.
 | isbn = 978-0-393-00671-1
}}
*{{cite book| title = A Perfidious Distortion of History
 | last = Tampke | first = Jürgen | year = 2017
 | publisher = Scribe | location = Melbourne
 | pages = vii, xii
 | isbn = 978-192532-1-944
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944–1948
 | editor1-last = Ther | editor1-first = Philipp
 | editor2-last = Siljak | editor2-first = Ana | editor2-link = Ana Siljak
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2001
 | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield s
 | series = The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series
 | isbn = 978-0-7425-1094-4
}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = The Surrogate Hegemon in Polish Postcolonial Discourse
 | last = Thompson
 | first = Ewa
 | author-link = Ewa Thompson
 | publisher = Rice University
 | url = http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ethomp/The%20Surrogate%20Hegemon.pdf
 | url-status = dead
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029211408/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~ethomp/The%20Surrogate%20Hegemon.pdf
 | date = n.d.
 | access-date = 10 October 2020
 | archive-date = 29 October 2013
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Europe Since Napoleon
 | last = Thomson | first = David | year = 1970
 | author-link = David Thomson (historian)
 | publisher = Penguin Books
 | page = 605
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
 | last = Tooze | first = Adam | year = 2007
 | author-link = Adam Tooze
 | orig-year = First published 2006
 | publisher = Penguin Books
 | isbn = 978-0-14-100348-1
}}
*{{Citation| title = Versailles after Sixty Years
 | last = Trachtenberg | first = Marc | year = 1982
 | author-link = Marc Trachtenberg
 | journal = Journal of Contemporary History
 | volume = 17 | issue = 3 | pages = 487–506
 | doi = 10.1177/002200948201700305 | jstor = 260557 | s2cid = 154283533
}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = The Treaty of Versailles, 1919
 | website = Château de Versailles
 | url = http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/treaty-versailles-1919
 | url-status = live
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232819/http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/treaty-versailles-1919
 | date = 22 November 2016
 | access-date = 2 March 2021
 | archive-date = 6 November 2020
 | ref = {{harvid|Château de Versailles|2016}}
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Power and Policy: Lessons for Leaders in Government and Business
 | last = Truitt | first = Wesley B. | year = 2010
 | publisher = Praeger
 | isbn = 978-031338-240-6
}}
*{{Cite book| title = European Powers in the First World War: An Encyclopedia
 | editor-last = Tucker | editor-first = Spencer C. | editor-link = Spencer C. Tucker
 | year = 1999 | orig-year = First published 1996
 | publisher = Routledge
 | series = Garland Reference Library of the Humanities
 | isbn = 978-081533-351-7
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History
 | last1 = Tucker | first1 = Spencer C.
 | last2 = Roberts | first2 = Priscilla
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2005
 | publisher = ABC=CLIO
 | isbn = 978-185109-420-2
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia
 | editor-last = Venzon | editor-first = Anne Cipriano
 | year = 1999
 | publisher = Routledge
 | series = Military History of the United States
 | isbn = 978-081533-353-1
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Verhandlung der verfassungsgebenden Nationalversammlung: Stenographische Berichte und Drucksachen
 | publisher = German National Assembly
 | year = 1919
 | volume = 24 | pages = 631–635
 | ref = {{harvid|''Proceedings of the National Assembly''|1919}}
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II
 | last = Weinberg
 | first = Gerhard L.
 | year = 1994
 | author-link = Gerhard Weinberg
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | url = https://archive.org/details/worldatarmsgloba00wein
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | isbn = 0-52144-317-2
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Germany, Hitler, and World War II: Essays in Modern German and World History
 | last = Weinberg | first = Gerhard L. | year = 2008
 | author-link = Gerhard Weinberg
 | orig-year = First published 1995
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | page = 16
 | isbn = 978-0-521-56626-1
}}
*{{cite web
 | title = Why the Nazis achieved power
 | publisher = BBC Bitesize
 | url = https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zsrwjxs/revision/4
 | ref = {{harvid|BBC Bitesize}}
 | access-date = 28 June 2019
 | archive-date = 4 March 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200304105522/https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zsrwjxs/revision/4
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{cite news
 | title = Why was the Zimmermann Telegram important?
 | publisher = [[BBC History|BBC History Magazine]]
 | url = http://www.historyextra.com/article/bbc-history-magazine/telegram-brought-america-first-world-war
 | date = 17 January 2017
 | access-date = 11 January 2019
 | ref = {{harvid|BBC History Magazine|2017}}
 | archive-date = 18 January 2018
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180118214331/http://www.historyextra.com/article/bbc-history-magazine/telegram-brought-america-first-world-war
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Henry Cabot Lodge and the Search for an American Foreign Policy
 | last = Widenor | first = William C. | year = 1980
 | author-link = William C. Widenor
 | publisher = University of California Press
 | isbn = 0-520-04962-4
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Western Front 1917–1918: From Vimy Ridge to Amiens and the Armistice
 | last = Wiest | first = Andrew | year = 2012
 | publisher = Amber Books
 | pages = 126, 168, 200
 | isbn = 978-1-906626-13-6
}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = How the Treaty of Versailles Contributed to Hitler's Rise
 | last = Wilde
 | first = Robert
 | website = ThoughtCo
 | url = https://www.thoughtco.com/treaty-of-versailles-hitlers-rise-power-1221351
 | date = 29 January 2020
 | access-date = 5 October 2020
 | archive-date = 20 October 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201020174354/https://www.thoughtco.com/treaty-of-versailles-hitlers-rise-power-1221351
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = The British in Interwar Germany: The Reluctant Occupiers, 1918–30 | edition = 2nd
 | last = Williamson | first = David G | year = 2017
 | author-link = David G. Williamson
 | publisher = Bloomsbury Academic | location = New York
 | pages = 19, 245
 | isbn = 978-1-4725-9582-9
}}
*{{Cite web
 | title = Peace Without Victory (speech to Senate)
 | last = Wilson
 | first = Woodrow
 | website = Digital History
 | url = http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3898
 | date = 22 January 1917
 | access-date = 6 March 2019
 | archive-date = 25 July 2022
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220725140550/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3898
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite journal | title = The Harding Administration, the League of Nations, and the Separate Peace Treaty
 | last1 = Wimer | first1 = Kurt
 | last2 = Wimer | first2 = Sarah
 | name-list-style = amp
 | journal = The Review of Politics
 | year = 1967 | volume = 29 | issue = 1 | pages = 13–24
 | doi = 10.1017/S0034670500023706 | jstor = 1405810 | s2cid = 145794771
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = The First World War – A Marxist Analysis of the Great Slaughter
 | last = Woods
 | first = Alan
 | publisher = Wellred Books
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IjOgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT238
 | date = 27 June 2019
 | page = 18
 | isbn = 978-1-913026-13-4
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Guarantee of Peace: The League of Nations in British Policy 1914–1925
 | last = Yearwood | first = Peter J. | year = 2009
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | isbn = 978-019922-673-3
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg
 | last = Zaloga | first = Steven | year = 2002
 | author-link = Steven Zaloga
 | others = Illustrated by Howard Gerrard
 | publisher = Osprey Publishing
 | series = Campaign
 | isbn = 978-1-84176-408-5
}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|35em}}
*{{cite book| title = A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today
 | last = Andelman | first = David A. | year = 2008
 | author-link = David A. Andelman
 | publisher = J. Wiley | location = New York/London
 | isbn = 978-0-471-78898-0
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Versailles twenty years after
 | last = Birdsall | first = Paul | year = 1941
 | author-link = Paul M. Birdsall
 | publisher = Allen & Unwin
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Breaking the Heart of the World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the League of Nations
 | last = Cooper | first = John Milton | year = 2010
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | isbn = 978-0-521-14765-1
 | ref = none
}}
*{{cite book| title = The World This Century
 | last = Demarco | first = Neil | year = 1987
 | publisher = Collins Educational | location = London
 | isbn = 0-00-322217-9
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Versailles Treaty and Its Legacy: The Failure of the Wilsonian Vision
 | last1 = Graebner | first1 = Norman A.
 | last2 = Bennett | first2 = Edward M.
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2011
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = New York
 | isbn = 978-1-107-00821-2
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Defeat in the Victory | edition = Reproduction
 | last = Herron | first = George D. | year = 2015
 | author-link = George D. Herron
 | orig-year = First edition published 1921
 | publisher = Palala Press; originally published by Cecil Palmer | location = Boston
 | isbn = 978-1-343-46520-6
 | ref = none
}}
*{{cite book| title = The Truth About the Peace Treaties (2 volumes)
 | last = Lloyd George | first = David | year = 1938
 | author-link = David Lloyd George
 | publisher = Victor Gollancz | location = London
 | ref = none
}}
** Published in the US as ''Memoirs of the Peace Conference''
* McKercher, B. J. C., and Erik Goldstein, eds.  ''Aspects of British Policy and the Treaty of Versailles'' (Routledge, 2020) [https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003014089/aspects-british-policy-treaty-versailles-mckercher-erik-goldstein?refId=d59ea46a-9e5f-46b6-9f7a-86a3c06d1230&context=ubx online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819101357/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003014089/aspects-british-policy-treaty-versailles-mckercher-erik-goldstein?refId=d59ea46a-9e5f-46b6-9f7a-86a3c06d1230&context=ubx |date=19 August 2024 }}

*{{cite book| title = Peacemakers
 | last = Macmillan | first = Margaret | year = 2001
 | author-link = Margaret MacMillan
 | publisher = John Murray | location = London
 | isbn = 0-7195-5939-1
 | ref = none
}}
** Also published as {{cite book
 | title = Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World
 | last = Macmillan
 | first = Margaret
 | year = 2001
 | publisher = Random House
 | location = New York
 | url = https://archive.org/details/paris1919sixmont00macm
 | via = [[Internet Archive]]
 | isbn = 0-375-76052-0
 | ref = none
 }}
*{{Cite journal | title = The First Capitulation: France and the Rhineland Crisis of 1936
 | last = Parker | first = R.A.C
 | author-link = R. A. C. Parker
 | journal = World Politics
 | date = April 1956 | volume = 8 | issue = 3 | pages = 355–373
 | doi = 10.2307/2008855 | jstor = 2008855 | s2cid = 155654607
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Versailles Settlement: Peacemaking After the First World War, 1919–1923 | edition = Third
 | last = Sharp | first = Alan | year = 2018
 | publisher = Palgrave
 | isbn = 978-1-137-61139-0
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia| title = Treaty of Versailles (1919)
 | last = Webster | first = Andrew | year = 2018
 | encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy
 | editor-last = Martel | editor-first = Gordon
 | publisher = Wiley-Blackwell
 | volume = 4 | pages = 1–15
 | isbn = 978-1-118-88791-2
 | ref = none
}}
*{{cite book| title = The Wreck of Reparations, being the political background of the Lausanne Agreement, 1932
 | last = Wheeler-Bennett | first = Sir John | year = 1972
 | author-link = John Wheeler-Bennett
 | publisher = H. Fertig | location = New York
 | ref = none
}}
{{Refend}}

===Historiography and memory===
{{refbegin|35em}}
*{{Cite journal
 | title = Reassembling a World Order: Toward a New Historiography of the Paris Peace Conference
 | last = Baranyi
 | first = Tamás Peter
 | journal = Corvinus Journal of International Affairs
 | year = 2019
 | volume = 4
 | issue = 2–4
 | pages = 1–32
 | url = https://journals.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php/cojourn/article/download/478/67
 | doi = 10.14267/cojourn.2019v4n2a1
 | s2cid = 213836404
 | doi-access = free
 | ref = none
 | archive-date = 25 February 2022
 | access-date = 25 February 2022
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220225014930/https://journals.lib.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php/cojourn/article/download/478/67
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite book| title = Versailles: A Reassessment after 75 Years
 | editor-last = Boemeke | editor-first = Manfred F.
 | display-editors = etal
 | year = 1998
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | isbn = 978-0-521-62132-8
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Treaty of Versailles, 1919: a primary source examination of the treaty that ended World War I
 | last = Brezina | first = Corona | year = 2006
 | publisher = Rosen Publishing Group
 | isbn = 978-1-4042-0442-3
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Writing the Great War: The Historiography of World War I from 1918 to the Present
 | editor1-last = Cornelissen | editor1-first = Christoph
 | editor2-last = Weinrich | editor2-first = Arndt
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2020
 | publisher = Berghahn Books
 | isbn = 978-1-78920-454-4
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite journal
 | title = The Making of a Masterpiece: John Maynard Keynes and The Economic Consequences of the Peace
 | last = Cox
 | first = Michael
 | journal = Global Perspectives
 | year = 2020
 | volume = 1
 | issue = 1
 | page = 12103
 | url = https://ucp.silverchair.com/gp/article-pdf/1/1/12103/463012/12103.pdf
 | doi = 10.1525/gp.2020.12103
 | s2cid = 216506161
 | ref = none
 | archive-date = 21 September 2024
 | access-date = 25 February 2022
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240921235157/https://ucp.silverchair.com/gp/article-pdf/1/1/12103/463012/12103.pdf
 | url-status = live
 }}
*{{Cite journal | title = The memory and historiography of the First World War in Italy
 | last = Ferrari | first = Paolo
 | journal = Comillas Journal of International Relations
 | year = 2015 | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 117–126
 | doi = 10.14422/cir.i02.y2015.009
 | doi-access = free
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = The Sky beyond Versailles: The Paris Peace Treaties in Recent Historiography
 | last = Gerwarth | first = Robert
 | journal = Journal of Modern History
 | year = 2021 | volume = 93 | issue = 4 | pages = 896–930
 | doi = 10.1086/716966 | s2cid = 244955175
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = Mistakes and Myths: The Allies, Germany, and the Versailles treaty, 1918–1921
 | last = Marks | first = Sally
 | journal = Journal of Modern History
 | year = 2013 | volume = 85 | issue = 3 | pages = 632–659
 | doi = 10.1086/670825 | s2cid = 154166326
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite journal | title = 'This Is No Longer a Book, It Is a Political Event' The French Reception of John Maynard Keynes's Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919–1920)
 | last = Sampaio | first = Guilherme
 | journal = French Historical Studies
 | year = 2020 | volume = 43 | pages = 451–482
 | doi = 10.1215/00161071-8278486 | s2cid = 225470429
 | ref = none
}}
*{{cite book| title = Consequences of Peace: The Versailles Settlement: Aftermath and Legacy 1919–2010
 | last = Sharp | first = Alan | year = 2011
 | publisher = Haus Publishing
 | isbn = 978-1-905791-74-3
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book
 | title = Versailles 1919: A Centennial Perspective
 | last = Sharp
 | first = Alan
 | year = 2018
 | publisher = Haus Publishing
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HjxyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT9
 | isbn = 978-1-912208-09-8
 | ref = none
 }}
*{{Cite book| chapter = The Treaty of Versailles Revisited
 | last = Steiner | first = Zara | year = 2001
 | title = The Paris Peace Conference, 1919
 | editor1-last = Dockrill | editor1-first = M.
 | editor2-last = Fisher | editor2-first = J.
 | name-list-style = amp
 | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
 | series = Studies in Military and Strategic History
 | pages = 13–33
 | isbn = 978-0-333-77630-8
 | ref = none
}}
*{{Cite book| title = The Great War in history: debates and controversies, 1914 to the present | edition = 2nd
 | last1 = Winter | first1 = Jay
 | last2 = Prost | first2 = Antoine
 | name-list-style = amp
 | year = 2020
 | publisher = Cambridge University Press
 | series = Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare
 | isbn = 978-1-108-84316-4
 | ref = none
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Treaty of Versailles}}
{{wikisource|Treaty of Versailles}}
{{wikisource|Treaty of Peace between Germany and the United States of America}}
* [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/private-lives/yourcountry/collections/paris-1919-vers/ Documents relating to the Treaty from the Parliamentary Collections]
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/versailles.html Treaty of Versailles Resource Guide] from the Library of Congress
* [http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-23.html Photographs of the document]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081216115514/https://www.ashatteredpeace.com/ The consequences of the Treaty of Versailles for today's world]
* [http://www.exulanten.com/cr2.html Text of Protest by Germany and Acceptance of Fair Peace Treaty]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441912/ ''My 1919'' – A film from the Chinese point of view, the only country that did not sign the treaty]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061013203131/http://www.polisci.ucla.edu/faculty/trachtenberg/cv/Ver(ss).doc "Versailles Revisted"] (Review of Manfred Boemeke, [[Gerald Feldman]] and Elisabeth Glaser, [https://books.google.com/books?id=zqj-oHp4KsgC ''The Treaty of Versailles: A Reassessment after 75 Years'']. Cambridge, UK: [[German Historical Institute]], Washington, and Cambridge University Press, 1998), ''Strategic Studies'' 9:2 (Spring 2000), 191–205
* [http://maps.omniatlas.com/europe/19190628/ Map of Europe and the impact of the Versailles Treaty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316063343/http://maps.omniatlas.com/europe/19190628/ |date=16 March 2015}} at omniatlas.com
* The Signing of the Peace Treaty, silent film (Youtube Premium): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgpNrLVEOIU ''Link'']

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