Versailles

1919 · rif. 49707 — Paris. 1919. Official French printing of the Treaty of Versailles a document of monumental importance in American and world history. The treaty made with Germany at the end of the First World War concluded a war of unrivalled devastation while sowing the seeds for the Second World War just twenty years on the horizon. The United States guided by Woodrow Wilson's vision played a central role in the crafting of the treaty. The U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty however based on the objection of several senators to the Covenant of the League of Nations which was included as Part I of the settlement thereby largely removing American influence and involvement from the international scene in the inter-war period. The Treaty of Versailles was a wide-ranging and ambitious document which sought not only to address the immediate postwar settlement but to punish Germany for its actions in starting and prosecuting the war attempted to remake the map of Europe and created a supra-national political organization the League of Nations. The Covenant of the League of Nations comprises the first part of the treaty. The next most famous part is that dealing with reparations which includes Article 231 the infamous "war guilt clause." By this article Germany accepted the responsibility of her and her allies "for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies." The intent of the article was to affix legal and financial responsibility on Germany but it took on moral implications and was used by Hitler during his rise as an example of Allied perniciousness. Germany had to agree to pay reparations to the allies in the sum of 20000000000 gold marks the amount to be modified by a reparations commission in 1921. Germany also had to recognize the independence of Austria and agree not to compromise that independence in the future. Germany's borders were redrawn with Alsace-Lorraine being given to France West Prussia to Poland and other lands such as Danzig and the Saar Basin stripped away. She lost her overseas possessions the Rhineland was occupied and the German army was limited to one hundred thousand men and largely disarmed. Other provisions address issues of tariffs ports labor aerial navigation prisoners of war and more. As has been noted the many punitive measures of the Treaty of Versailles did much to fan the seeds of discontent in post-war Germany and to facilitate the rise of Hitler who publicly flaunted the provisions of the treaty throughout the 1930s. The refusal of the United States to ratify the treaty and participate in the League of Nations was a crucial part in the chain of events that led to the Second World War. A most important document here in an official French printing with the Protocol as a separate signature at the end. Folio. Original printed wrappers. Minor edge wear small nick on front cover. Very good. Untrimmed and unopened. In a cardboard chemise and slipcase. unknown