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The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919 and consisted of 440 Articles setting out the terms for Germany's punishment. The treaty was greeted with shock and disbelief in Germany.
Key terms
Move your mouse over the interactive map below to learn the main clauses of the treaty.
The treaty set out 440 Articles detailing Germany's punishment. These were the most important:
Key articles
| Article number | Description |
|---|---|
| 1-26: | The Covenant of the League of Nations - Germany was not allowed to join. |
| 42: | The Rhineland was demilitarised - the German army was not allowed to go there. |
| 45: | The Saar, with its rich coalfields, given to France for 15 years. |
| 51: | Alsace-Lorraine returned to France. |
| 80: | Germany forbidden to unite with Austria. |
| 87: | Lands in eastern Germany - the rich farmlands of Posen and the Polish corridor between Germany and East Prussia - given to Poland. |
| 100: | Danzig made a free city under League of Nations control. |
| 119: | All Germany's colonies taken and given to France and Britain as 'mandates'. |
| 160: | The German army restricted to 100,000 men. |
| 181: | The German navy restricted to six battleships and no submarines. |
| 198: | Germany not allowed to have an air force. |
| 231: | Germany was responsible for causing all the loss and damage caused by the war. |
| 232: | Germany would have to pay reparations, to be decided later - eventually set at 132 billion gold marks. |
The terms of the treaty can be classified into three groups:
- territorial - provisions that took land away from Germany
- military - provisions that limited Germany's armed forces
- financial and economic
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