answersLogoWhite

0

The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I. The armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. But it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to come up with the necessary document for official closure of the war. The treaty was signed by representatives of Germany and of the Allied Powers.

The three main Allied countries were France, the Russian Empire, and the United Kingdom. As the fighting intensified, they were joined by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Italy, Japan, Romania, Serbia, and the United States. Separate treaties were concluded with the Central Powers that had fought on the side of the German Empire. These countries were the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire.

The treaty required Germany to accept sole responsibility for the cause of the war. Additionally, Germany was to disarm and lose huge amounts of its territory. There were also reparations to pay in the amount of 132 billion German marks, which equalled 6,600 million British pounds sterling or $31.5 billion dollars in the United States of America.

The treaty's signing took place on June 28, 1919. This was exactly five years after the event that led to the beginning of World War I. On that day, in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand [December 18, 1863-June 28, 1914] and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg [March 1, 1868-June 28, 1914] were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip [July 25, 1894-April 28, 1918]. Princip was considered a minor who therefore couldn't be executed. Instead, throughout the war, he was subjected to such a harsh imprisonment that he tried to commit suicide at least twice. He also developed tuberculosis, because of which one of his arms was amputated. He weighed no more than 40 kilograms/88 pounds at the time of his death in Theresienstadt, which at the time was in Austrian controlled Bohemia.

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?