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Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles

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 articles did not use the world guilt but it served as a legal basis to compel Germany to pay reparations of war.

Article 231 was one of the most controversial points of the treaty. It specified:

"The Allied and Associated Governments affirm the 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 allies."

Germans 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 reactions; 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 damage created by the clause, which caused anger and resentment amongst the German population.

BACKGROUND

On 28 June 1914, BOSNIAN SERB youngster GAVRILO PRINCIP ASSASSINATED the heir to the throne of AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND, in SARAJEVO. The assassination was part of a plot conceived by the PAN-SLAVIC nationalist organization YOUNG BOSNIA and supported by the BLACK HAND, a secret society founded by senior Serbian military and intelligence officials.[1] The Assassination caused a DIPLOMATIC CRISIS, resulting in Austria-Hungary declaring war on SERBIA and ultimately leading to the outbreak of the FIRST WORLD WAR. [2] For a VARIETY OF REASONS, within weeks the major powers of Europe - divided into two alliances known as the CENTRAL POWERS and the TRIPLE ENTENTE - went to war. As the conflict progressed, additional countries from around the globe became drawn into the conflict on both sides. [3]

Fighting would rage across EUROPE, the MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA and ASIA for the next four years. [4] On 8 January 1918, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON issued a statement that became known as the FOURTEEN POINTS. In part, this speech called for the Central Powers to withdraw from the territories they had occupied, for he creation of a POLISH STATE, the redrawing of Europe's borders along ethnic ("national") lines, and the formation of a LEAGUE OF NATIONS.[5][6] During the northern-hemisphere autumn of 1918, the Central Powers began to collapse.[7] The German military suffered a DECISIVE DEFEAT on the WESTERN FRONT, while on the HOME FRONT the IMPERIAL GERMAN NAVY MUTINIED, prompting uprisings in Germany which became known as the GERMAN REVOLUTION. [8][9][10] The German government attempted to obtain a peace settlement based on the Fourteen Points, and maintained it was on this basis that Germany surrendered. Following negotiations, the Allied Powers and Germany SIGNED AN ARMISTICE, which came into effect on 11 November while German forces were still positioned in FRANCE and BELGIUM.[11][12][13]

On 18 January 1919 the PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE began. The conference aimed to establish peace between the war's belligerents and to establish the post-war world. The TREATY OF VERSAILLES resulting from the conference dealt solely with Germany.[14][15] This treaty, along with the others that were signed during the conference, each took their name from the SUBURB OF PARIS where the signings took place. [16] While 70 delegates from 26 nations participated in the Paris negotiations, representatives from Germany were barred from attending, nominally over fears that a German delegation would attempt to play one country off against the other and unfairly influence the proceedings.[16][17]