Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles information
Beginning of the 1919 treaty's reparations section
Paris Peace Conference
League of Nations
Covenant of the League of Nations
Members
Organisation
Minority Treaties
Little Treaty of Versailles
Mandates
Treaty of Versailles
"War Guilt" clause
Reparations
Dawes Plan
Hague conference on reparations
Young Plan
Lausanne Conference
Locarno Treaties
Possible cause of World War II
International Opium Convention
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine
Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
Millerand letter
Treaty of Sèvres
Partition of the Ottoman Empire
Conference of London (1920)
San Remo conference
Turkish National Movement
Turkish War of Independence
Treaty of Lausanne
Others
American Commission to Negotiate Peace
Commission of Responsibilities
The Inquiry
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Article 231, often known as the "War Guilt" clause, was the opening article of the reparations section of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the First World War between the German Empire and the Allied and Associated Powers. The article did not use the word guilt but it served as a legal basis under which Germany was to pay reparations for damages caused during the war.
Article 231 was one of the most controversial points of the treaty. It specified:
The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany 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.
Many German commentators viewed this clause as a national humiliation, forcing Germany to accept full responsibility for causing the war. German politicians were vocal in their opposition to the article in an attempt to generate international sympathy, while German historians worked to undermine the article with the objective of subverting the entire treaty. The Allied leaders were surprised at the German reaction; they saw the article only as a necessary legal basis to extract compensation from Germany. The article, with the signatory's name changed, was also included in the treaties signed by Germany's allies who did not view the clause with the same disdain as the Germans did. American diplomat John Foster Dulles—one of the two authors of the article—later regretted the wording used, believing it further aggravated the German people.
The historical consensus is that responsibility or guilt for the war was not attached to the article. Rather, the clause was a prerequisite to allow a legal basis to be laid out for the reparation payments that were to be made. Historians have also highlighted the unintended offence created by the clause, which caused anger and resentment amongst the German population.
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