Wednesday, February 5, 2014

What were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

The Treaty of Versailles put the sole blame for World War I on Germany. It sought to punish the Germans for starting the war, as well for the war's enormous economic costs. The victorious allies also wanted to make sure that the Germans wouldn't start another catastrophic conflict. The terms of the Treaty, therefore, were harsh and draconian:
The German Army was to be restricted to no more than 100,000 men.
Germany was held responsible for all the loss and damage caused by the war.
Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.
The Rhineland was de-militarized.
The economically-valuable coalfields of the Saarland were to be given to France for 15 years.
Danzig was made a free city under the control of the League of Nations.
All of Germany's overseas colonies were to be given to Great Britain in the form of mandates.
And most damaging of all from a German perspective: Germany was required to pay an unspecified sum of reparations, which later came to a crippling 132 billion gold marks.

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