Treaty of Versailles
Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France
What happened
The Allied powers, led by Woodrow Wilson of the United States, David Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, and Germany. After the First World War, the winning powers met in Paris to decide the peace terms. Germany was not allowed to take part in the talks and was given the terms to sign. On 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination that started the war, the treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It created the League of Nations, an organisation to settle disputes between countries. Germany lost land and all its colonies, had to accept responsibility for the war and pay reparations, and its army was strictly limited; historians still debate whether the treaty was too harsh or too lenient.
What came next
The treaty came into force on 10 January 1920. The US Senate never approved it, and the United States made a separate peace with Germany in 1921.
Did you know?
China refused to sign, in protest at German lands in China being handed to Japan, which sparked the May Fourth Movement.
Timeline
- 11 November 1918The armistice ends the fighting.
- 28 June 1919The Treaty of Versailles is signed.
- 10 January 1920The treaty comes into force.
- 1921The United States makes a separate peace with Germany.