History11 - Nazism in Germany 1918-1945: Treaty of Versailles

This section of the website details the full contents of the Peace Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919 by Germany and the Allied powers at the Palace of Versailles. A sizeable document, the treaty featured some 440 Articles, with the addition of numerous Annexes.

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolutionand other events in Russia. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris – hence its title – between Germany and the Allies. The three most important politicians there were David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson.

According to French and British wishes, the Treaty of Versailles subjected Germany to strict punitive measures. The Treaty required the new German Government to surrender approximately 10 percent of its prewar territory in Europe and all of its overseas possessions.