The Treaty of Versailles

Abstract

The Treaty of Versailles is a lengthy document of almost 450 articles and numerous annexes. It is divided into fifteen parts: The Covenant of the League of Nations; Boundaries of Germany; Political Clauses for Europe; German Rights and Interests Outside Germany; Military, Naval, and Air Clauses; Prisoners of War and Graves; Penalties; Reparation; Financial Clauses; Economic Clauses; Aerial Navigation; Ports, Waterways and Railways; Labor; Guarantees; and Miscellaneous Provisions. It is difficult to separate out the purely economic clauses. Many of the articles concerning economic matters were tailored to fit political ends. Most of the territorial changes were of economic importance, depriving Germany of about 15 per cent of her arable land, three-quarters of her iron ore and one-quarter of her coal production. The excerpts presented below include two examples of territorial change (the Saar Basin and Danzig), along with representative clauses from the financial and economic sections and the section on German interests abroad. All of the articles of Part VIII, concerning the much-debated issue of reparation, have been included as has much of the material in the related annexes (only one of the seven annexes has been entirely omitted). The clauses on transport, however, have been omitted.