The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and the German Empire. After six months of negotiations, which took place at the Paris Peace Conference, the treaty was signed as a follow-up to the armistice signed in November 1918 in the Compi�gne Forest (which had put an end to the actual fighting). Although there were many provisions in the treaty, one of the more important and recognized one required that Germany accept full responsibility for causing the war and, under the terms of articles 231-247, make reparations to certain countries that had made up the Allies.
Negotiations between the allied powers started on May 7, the anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. Terms imposed by the treaty on Germany included losing a certain amount of its own territory to a number of surrounding countries, being stripped of all of its overseas and African colonies, and its ability to make war again was limited by restrictions on the size of its military. Because Germany was not allowed to take part in the negotiations, the German government issued a protest to what it considered to be unfair demands, and soon afterwards withdrew from the proceedings.
Later a new German foreign minister, Hermann M�ller, agreed to sign it on June 28, 1919. The treaty was ratified by the League of Nations on January 10, 1920.
In Germany, the treaty caused shock and humiliation that contributed to the collapse of the Weimar Republic in 1933, particularly because many Germans did not believe that they should accept the sole responsibility of Imperial Germany and its allies for starting the war.
- The "Big Four" that negotiated the treaty consisted of Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, and President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America.
- Germany was not invited to France to discuss the treaty.
- At Versailles, it was difficult to decide on a common position because their aims conflicted with one another.
- The result was said to be a compromise that nobody liked.
