Germany had to accept responsibility for war damage, pay reparations, reduce its armed forces and give up territory.
Reparations were payments or deliveries of goods to compensate for war damage. Article 231 of the treaty placed responsibility on Germany and its allies for loss and damage resulting from their aggression. This provided the legal basis for reparations. Many Germans resented it as a judgement of guilt, but the clause did not say that Germany alone caused every aspect of the war.
The treaty required Germany to pay reparations, but it did not set the final total in June 1919. The headline sum of 132 billion gold marks was fixed in 1921.
Germany's army was limited to 100,000 men. Conscription, meaning compulsory military service, was banned, as were tanks and an air force; naval strength was also restricted. The Rhineland remained part of Germany, but Germany could not station troops or build fortifications there. This was demilitarisation: restricting military use of an area.
Germany lost Alsace-Lorraine to France and land that formed the Polish corridor. It also lost its overseas colonies. The Saar had a different arrangement: the League governed it for fifteen years, while France received its coal mines. A territory changing ruler is different from a ban on troops or a change in who owns its mines.
Worked example: Three places, three arrangements
Compare Alsace-Lorraine, the Rhineland and the Saar after the treaty.
- Alsace-Lorraine changed which country governed it: it returned to France.
- The Rhineland stayed German but German military forces and fortifications were restricted.
- The Saar had temporary League administration and French ownership of its coal mines. Calling all three simply "land given to France" loses the distinction.
Watch out for this
The treaty reduced the German army to 10,000 and gave the Rhineland to France.
The army limit was 100,000. Demilitarisation restricted military activity; it did not transfer the Rhineland to France.
Check your understanding
Which statement correctly describes the reparations settlement?
- The treaty fixed the final 132 billion gold mark total in June 1919.
- Article 231 said Germany and its allies bore responsibility for damage and supported the obligation to pay reparations.
- Reparations meant Germany paid nothing until after the Second World War.