PART I
THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, In order to promote international co- operation
and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations
not to resort to war by the prescription of open, just and honourable relations
between nations by the firm establishment of the understandings of international
law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of
justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of
organised peoples with one another Agree to this Covenant of the League of
Nations.
ARTICLE 1.
The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the
Signatories which are named in the Annex to this Covenant and also such of those
other States named in the Annex as shall accede without reservation to this
Covenant. Such accession shall be effected by a Declaration deposited with the
Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant Notice
thereof shall be sent to all other Members of the League. Any fully self-
governing State, Dominion, or Colony not named in the Annex may become a Member
of the League if its admission is agreed to by two- thirds of the Assembly
provided that it shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to
observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may
be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval, and air forces and
armaments. Any Member of the League may, after two years' notice of its
intention so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all its
international obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have
been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal.
ARTICLE 2.
The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected through the
instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Council, with a permanent Secretariat.
ARTICLE 3.
The Assembly shall consist of Representatives of the Members of the League.
The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time to time as occasion
may require at the Seat of the League or at such other place as may be decided
upon. The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of
action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. At meetings of the
Assembly each Member of the League shall have one vote, and may not have more
than three Representatives.
ARTICLE 4.
The Council shall consist of Representatives of the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers, together with Representatives of four other Members of the
League. These four Members of the League shall be selected by the Assembly from
time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the Representatives of
the four Members of the League first selected by the Assembly, Representatives
of Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and Greece shall be members of the Council. With the
approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council may name additional
Members of the League whose Representatives shall always be members of the
Council; the Council with like approval may increase the number of Members of
the League to be selected by the Assembly for representation on the Council. The
Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may require, and at least once
a year, at the Seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided
upon. The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of
action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. Any Member of the
League not represented on the Council shall be invited to send a Representative
to sit as a member at any meeting of the Council during the consideration of
matters specially affecting the interests of that Member of the League. At
meetings of the Council, each Member of the League represented on the Council
shall have one vote, and may have not more than one Representative.
ARTICLE 5.
Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant or by the terms of
the present Treaty, decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council
shall require the agreement of all the Members of the League represented at the
meeting. All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the Council,
including the appointment of Committees to investigate particular matters, shall
be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and may be decided by a majority
of the Members of the League represented at the meeting. The first meeting of
the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council shall be summoned by the
President of the United States of America.
ARTICLE 6.
The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat of the League. The
Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary General and such secretaries and staff as
may be required. The first Secretary General shall be the person named in the
Annex; thereafter the Secretary General shall be appointed by the Council with
the approval of the majority of the Assembly. The secretaries and staff of the
Secretariat shall be appointed by the Secretary General with the approval of the
Council. The Secretary General shall act in that capacity at all meetings of the
Assembly and of the Council. The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by
the Members of the League in accordance with the apportionment of the expenses
of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
ARTICLE 7.
The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. The Council may at any time
decide that the Seat of the League shall be established elsewhere. All positions
under or in connection with the League, including he Secretariat, shall be open
equally to men and women. Representatives of the Members of the League and
officials of he League when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy
diplomatic privileges and immunities. The buildings and other property occupied
by the League or its officials or by Representatives attending its meetings
shall be inviolable.
ARTICLE 8.
The Members of the League recognise that the maintenance of peace requires
the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national
safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. The
Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circumstances of each
State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action
of the several Governments. Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and
revision at least every ten years. After these plans shall have been adopted by
the several Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be
exceeded without the concurrence of the Council. The Members of the League agree
that the manufacture by private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is
open to grave objections. The Council shall advise how the evil effects
attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the
necessities of those Members of the League which are not able to manufacture the
munitions and implements of war necessary for their safety. The Members of the
League undertake to interchange full and frank information as to the scale of
their armaments, their military, naval, and air programmes and the condition of
such of their industries as are adaptable to war-like purposes.
ARTICLE 9.
A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the
execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval, and air
questions generally.
ARTICLE 10.
The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against
external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political
independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in
case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon
the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.
ARTICLE 11.
Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of
the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League,
and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to
safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise the
Secretary General shall on the request of any Member of the League forthwith
summon a meeting of the Council. It is also declared to be the friendly right of
each Member of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the
Council any circumstance whatever affecting international relations which
threatens to disturb international peace or the good understanding between
nations upon which peace depends.
ARTICLE 12.
The Members of the League agree that if there should arise between them any
dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will submit the matter either to
arbitration or to inquiry by the Council, and they agree in no case to resort to
war until three months after the award by the arbitrators or the report by the
Council. In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators shall be
made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council shall be made
within six months after the submission of the dispute.
ARTICLE 13.
The Members of the League agree that whenever any dispute shall arise between
them which they recognise to be suitable for submission to arbitration and which
cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, they will submit the whole
subject-matter to arbitration. Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as
to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which if
established would constitute a breach of any international obligation, or as to
the extent and nature of the reparation to be made or any such breach, are
declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission to
arbitration. For the consideration of any such dispute the court of arbitration
to which the case is referred shall be the Court agreed on by the parties to the
dispute or stipulated in any convention existing between them. The Members of
the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award that may
be rendered, and that they will not resort to war against a Member of the League
which complies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an
award, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect
thereto.
ARTICLE 14.
The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of the League for
adoption plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International
Justice. The Court shall be competent to hear and determine any dispute of an
international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may
also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the
Council or by the Assembly.
ARTICLE 15.
If there should arise between Members of the League any dispute likely to
lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to arbitration in accordance with
Article 13, the Members of the League agree that they will submit the matter to
the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving
notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary General, who will make
all necessary arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof.
For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate to the Secretary
General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case with all the relevant
facts and papers, and the Council may forthwith direct the publication thereof.
The Council shall endeavour to effect a settlement of the dispute, and if such
efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public giving such facts and
explanations regarding the dispute and the terms of settlement thereof as the
Council may deem appropriate. If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council
either unanimously or by a majority vote shall make and publish a report
containing a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations which
are deemed just and proper in regard thereto Any Member of the League
represented on the Council may make public a statement of the facts of the
dispute and of its conclusions regarding the same. If a report by the Council is
unanimously agreed to by the members thereof other than the Representatives of
one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League agree that
they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which complies with the
recommendations of the report. If the Council fails to reach a report which is
unanimously agreed to by the members thereof, other than the Representatives of
one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League reserve to
themselves the right to take such action as they shall consider necessary for
the maintenance of right and justice. If the dispute between the parties is
claimed by one of them, and is found by the Council, to arise out of a matter
which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that
party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its
settlement. The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to
the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either party to
the dispute, provided that such request be made within fourteen days after the
submission of the dispute to the Council. In any case referred to the Assembly,
all the provisions of this Article and of Article 12 relating to the action and
powers of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the Assembly,
provided that a report made by the Assembly, if concurred in by the
Representatives of those Members of the League represented on the Council and of
a majority of the other Members of the League, exclusive in each case of the
Representatives of the parties to the dispute shall have the same force as a
report by the Council concurred in by all the members thereof other than the
Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute.
ARTICLE 16.
Should any Member of the League resort to war in disregard of its covenants
under Articles 12, 13, or 15, it shall ipso facto be deemed to have committed an
act of war against all other Members of the League, which hereby undertake
immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations,
the prohibition of all intercourse between their nations and the nationals of
the covenant-breaking State, and the prevention of all financial, commercial, or
personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking State and
the nationals of any other State, whether a Member of the League or not. It
shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend to the several
Governments concerned what effective military, naval, or air force the Members
of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to
protect the covenants of the League. The Members of the League agree, further,
that they will mutually support one another in the financial and economic
measures which are taken under this Article, in order to minimise the loss and
inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually
support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their
number by the covenant breaking State, and that they will take the necessary
steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the
Members of the League which are co-operating to protect the covenants of the
League. Any Member of the League which has violated any covenant of the League
may be declared to be no longer a Member of the League by a vote of the Council
concurred in by the Representatives of all the other Members of the League
represented thereon.
ARTICLE 17.
In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and a State which is
not a Member of the League, or between States not Members of the League, the
State or States, not Members of the League shall be invited to accept the
obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, upon
such conditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is accepted,
the provisions of Articles 12 to 16 inclusive shall be applied with such
modifications as may be deemed necessary by the Council. Upon such invitation
being given the Council shall immediately institute an inquiry into the
circumstances of the dispute and recommend such action as may seem best and most
effectual in the circumstances. If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the
obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and
shall resort to war against a Member of the League, the provisions of Article 16
shall be applicable as against the State taking such action. If both parties to
the dispute when so invited refuse to accept the obligations of membership in
the League for the purpose of such dispute, the Council may take such measures
and make such recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the
settlement of the dispute.
ARTICLE 18.
Every treaty or international engagement entered into hereafter by any Member
of the League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and shall as
soon as possible be published by it. No such treaty or international engagement
shall be binding until so registered.
ARTICLE 19.
The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration by Members of
the League of treaties which have become inapplicable and the consideration of
international conditions whose continuance might endanger the peace of the
world.
ARTICLE 20.
The Members of the League severally agree that this Covenant is accepted as
abrogating all obligations or understandings inter se which are inconsistent
with the terms thereof, and solemnly undertake that they will not hereafter
enter into any engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof. In case any
Member of the League shall, before becoming a Member of the League, have
undertaken any obligations inconsistent with the terms of this Covenant, it
shall be the duty of such Member to take immediate steps to procure its release
from such obligations.
ARTICLE 21.
Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of
international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration or regional
understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace.
ARTICLE 22.
To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war have
ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them
and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the
strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle
that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of
civilisation and that securities for the performance of this trust should be
embodied in this Covenant. The best method of giving practical effect to this
principle is that the tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced
nations who by reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical
position can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept
it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf
of the League. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage
of the development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory,
its economic conditions, and other similar circumstances. Certain communities
formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development
where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognised
subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory
until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities
must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory. Other
peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a stage that the
Mandatory must be responsible for the administration of the territory under
conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience and religion, subject only
to the maintenance of public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such as
the slave trade, the arms traffic, and the liquor traffic, and the prevention of
the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases and of military
training of the natives for other than police purposes and the defence of
territory, and will also secure equal opportunities for the trade and commerce
of other Members of the League. There are territories, such as South-West Africa
and certain of the South Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of
their population, or their small size, or their remoteness from the centres of
civilisation, or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the
Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of
the Mandatory as integral portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards
above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous population. In every case of
mandate, the Mandatory shall render to the Council an annual report in reference
to the territory committed to its charge. The degree of authority, control, or
administration to be exercised by the Mandatory shall, if not previously agreed
upon by the Members of the League, be explicitly defined in each case by the
Council. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive and examine the
annual reports of the Mandatories and to advise the Council on all matters
relating to the observance of the mandates.
ARTICLE 23.
Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of international conventions
existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the Members of the League: (a) will
endeavour to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of labour for men,
women, and children, both in their own countries and in all countries to which
their commercial and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will
establish and maintain the necessary international organisations; (b) undertake
to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories under their
control; © will entrust the League with the general supervision over the
execution of agreements with regard to the traffic in women and children, and
the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs; (d) will entrust the League with
the general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries
in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest; (e)
will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of
transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members of the League.
In this connection, the special necessities of the regions devastated during the
war of 1914-1918 shall be borne in mind; (f) will endeavour to take steps in
matters of international concern for the prevention and control of disease.
ARTICLE 24.
There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international
bureaux already established by general treaties if the parties to such treaties
consent. All such international bureaux and all commissions for the regulation
of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under
the direction of the League. In all matters of international interest which are
regulated by general conventions but which are not placed under the control of
international bureaux or commissions, the Secretariat of the League shall,
subject to the consent of the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and
distribute all relevant information and shall render any other assistance which
may be necessary or desirable. The Council may include as part of the expenses
of the Secretariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed
under the direction of the League.
ARTICLE 25.
The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote the establishment
and co-operation of duly authorised voluntary national Red Cross organisations
having as purposes the improvement of health, the prevention of disease, and the
mitigation of suffering throughout the world.
ARTICLE 26.
Amendments to this Covenant will take effect when ratified by the Members of
the League whose representatives compose the Council and by a majority of the
Members of the League whose Representatives compose the Assembly. No such
amendment shall bind any Member of the League which signifies its dissent
therefrom, but in that case it shall cease to be a Member of the League.
ANNEX.
I. ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS SIGNATORIES OF THE TREATY OF
PEACE.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, BRITISH EMPIRE, CANADA,
AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND, INDIA, CHINA, CUBA, ECUADOR, FRANCE,
GREECE, GUATEMALA, HAITI, HEDJAZ, HONDURAS, ITALY, JAPAN, LIBERIA, NICARAGUA,
PANAMA, PERU, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROUMANIA, SERB-CROAT-SLOVENE STATE, SIAM,
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA, URUGUAY
STATES INVITED TO ACCEDE TO THE COVENANT.
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, CHILE, COLOMBIA, DENMARK, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, PARAGUAY,
PERSIA, SALVADOR, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, VENEZUELA.
II. FIRST SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
The Honourable Sir James Eric Drummond, K.C.M.G., C.B.
PART II.
BOUNDARIES OF GERMANY.
ARTICLE 27.
The boundaries of Germany will be determined as follows:
1. With Belgium:
From the point common to the three frontiers of Belgium, Holland, and Germany
and in a southerly direction: the north-eastern boundary of the former territory
of neutral Moresnet' then the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Eupen, then the
frontier between Belgium and the Kreis of Montjoie, then the northeastern and
eastern boundary of the Kreis of Malmedy to its junction with the frontier of
Luxemburg.
2. With Luxemburg:
The frontier of August 3, 1914, to its junction with the frontier of France
of the 18th July, 1870.
3. With France:
The frontier of July 18, 1870, from Luxemburg to Switzerland with the
reservations made in Article 48 of Section IV (Saar Basin) of Part III.
4. With Switzerland:
The present frontier.
5. With Austria.
The frontier of August 3, 1914, from Switzerland to CzechoSlovakia as
hereinafter defined.
6. With Czecho-Slovakia:
The frontier of August 3, 1914, between Germany and Austria from its junction
with the old administrative boundary separating Bohemia and the province of
Upper Austria to the point north of the salient of the old province of Austrian
Silesia situated at about 8 kilometres east of Neustadt.
7. With Poland:
From the point defined above to a point to be fixed on the ground about 2
kilometres east of Lorzendorf: the fronticr as it will be fixed in accordance
with Article 88 of the present Treaty; thence in a northerly direction to the
point where the administrative boundary of Posnania crosses the river Bartsch: a
line to be fixed on the ground leaving the following placcs in Poland:
Skorischau, Reichthal, Trembatschau, Kunzendorf, Schleise, Gross Koscl,
Schreibersdorf, Rippin, Furstlich-Niefken, Pawelau, Tscheschen, Konradau,
Johallnisdorf, Modzenowe, Bogdaj, and in Gerrmany: Lorzendorf, Kaulwitz,
Glausche, Dalbersdorf, Reesewitz, Stradam, Gross Wartenberg, Kraschen, Neu
Mittelwalde, Domaslawitz, Wedelsdorf, Tscheschen Hammer; thence the
administrative boundary of Posnania northwestwards to the point where it cuts
the Rawitsch- Herrnstadt railway; thence to the point where the administrative
boundary of Posnania cuts the Reisen-Tschirnau road: a line to be fixed on the
ground passing west of Triebusch and Gabel and east of Saborwitz; thence the
administrative boundary of Posnania to its junction with the eastern
administrative boundary of the Kreis of Fraustadt; thence in a north-westerly
direction to a point to be chosen on the road between the villages of Unruhstadt
and Kopnitz: a line to be fixed on the ground passing west of Geyersdorf,
Brenno, Fehlen, Altkloster, Klebel, and east of Ulbersdorf, Buchwald,
Ilgen,Weine, Lupitze, Schwenten: thence in a northerly direction to the
northernmost point of Lake Chlop: a line to be fixed on the ground following the
median line of the lakes; the town and the station of Bentschen however
(including the junction of the lines Schwiebus-Bentschen and
Zullichau-Bentschen) remaining in Polish territory; thence in a north-easterly
direction to the point of junction of the boundaries of the Kreise of Schwerin,
Birnbaum, and Meseritz: a line to be fixed on the ground passing east of
Betsche; thence in a northerly direction the boundary separating the Kreise of
Schwerin and Birnbaum, then in an easterly direction the northern boundary of
Posnania to the point where it cuts the river Netze; thence upstream to its
confluence with the Kaddow: the course of the Netze; thence upstream to a point
to be chosen about 6 kilometres southeast of Schneidemuhl: the course of the
Kuddow; thence north-eastwards to the most southern point of the reentant of the
northern boundary of Posnania about 5 kilometres west of Stahren: a line to be
fixed on the ground leaving the SchneidemuhlKonitz railway in this area entirely
in German territory; thence the boundary of Posnania north-eastwards to the
point of the salient it makes about 15 kilometres east of Flatow; thence
north-eastwards to the point where the river Kamionka meets the southern
boundary of the Kreis of Konitz about 3 kilometres north-east of Grunau: a line
to be fixed on the ground leaving the following places to Poland: Jasdrowo, Gr.
Lutau, Kl. Lutau, Wittkau, and to Germany: Gr. Butzig, Cziskowo, Battrow, Bock,
Grunau; thence in a northerly direction the boundary between the Kreise of
Konitz and Schlochau to the point where this boundary cuts the river Brahe;
thence to a point on the boundary of Pomerania 15 kilometres east of
Rummelsburg: a line to be fixed on the ground leaving the following places in
Poland: Konarzin, Kelpin, Adl. Briesen, and in Germany: Sampohl, Neuguth,
Steinfort, Gr. Peterkau; then the boundary of Pomerania in an easterly direction
to its junction with the boundary between the Kreise of Konitz and Schlochau;
thence northwards the boundary between Pomerania and West Prussia to the point
on the river Rheda about 3 kilometres northwest of Gohra where that river is
joined by a tributary from the north-west; thence to a point to be selected in
the bend of the Piasnitz river about 1 1/2 kilometres north-west of Warschkau: a
line to be fixed on the ground; thence this river downstream, then the median
line of Lake Zarnowitz, then the old boundary of West Prussia to the Baltic Sea.
8. With Denmark:
The frontier as it will be fixed in accordance with Articles 109 to III of
Part III, Section XII (Schleswig).
ARTICLE 28.
The boundaries of East Prussia, with the reservations made in Section IX
(East Prussia) of Part III, will be determined as follows: from a point on the
coast of the Baltic Sea about 1 1/2 kilometres north of Probbernau church in a
direction of about 159° East from true North: a line to be fixed on the ground
for about 2 kilometres; thence in a straight line to the light at the bend of
the Elbing Channel in approximately latitude 54° 19 1/2' North, longitude 19°
26' East of Greenwich; thence to the easternmost mouth of the Nogat River at a
bearing of approximately 209° East from true North; thence up the course of the
Nogat River to the point where the latter leaves the Vistula (Weichsel);thence
up the principal channel of navigation of the Vistula, then the southern
boundary of the Kreis of Marienwerder, then that of the Kreis of Rosenberg
eastwards to the point where it meets the old boundary of East Prussia, thence
the old boundary between East and West Prussia, then the boundary between the
Kreise of Osterode and Neidenburg, then the course of the river Skottau
downstream, then the course of the Neide upstream to a point situated about 5
kilometres west of Bialutten being the nearest point to the old frontier of
Russia; thence in an easterly direction to a point immediately south of the
intersection of the road Neidenburg-Mlava with the old frontier of Russia: a
line to be fixed on the ground passing north of Bialutten; thence the old
frontier of Russia to a point east of Schmalleningken, then the principal
channel of navigation of the Niemen (Memel) downstream, then the Skierwieth arm
of the delta to the Kurisches Haff; thence a straight line to the point where
the eastern shore of the Kurische Nehrung meets the administrative boundary
about 4 kilometres south-west of Nidden; thence this administrative boundary to
the western shore of the Kurische Nehrung.
ARTICLE 29.
The boundaries as described above are drawn in red on a one-in-a- million map
which is annexed to the present Treaty (Map No. 1). [See Introduction.] In the
case of any discrepancies between the text of the Treaty and this map or any
other map which may be annexed, the text will be final.
ARTICLE 30.
In the case of boundaries which are defined by a waterway, the terms "course"
and "channel" used in the present Treaty signify: in the case of non-navigable
rivers, the median line of the waterway or of its principal arm, and, in the
case of navigable rivers, the median line of the principal channel of navigation
It will rest with the Boundary Commissions provided by the present Treaty to
specify in each case whether the frontier line shall follow any changes of the
course or channel which may take place or whether it shall be definitely fixed
by the position of the course or channel at the time when the present Treaty
comes into force.
PART III
POLITICAL CLAUSES FOR EUROPE
SECTION I
ARTICLE 31.
Germany, recognising that the Treaties of April 19, 1839, which established
the status of Belgium before the war, no longer conform to the requirements of
the situation, consents to the abrogation of the said Treaties and undertakes
immediately to recognise and to observe whatever conventions may be entered into
by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, or by any of them, in concert
with the Governments of Belgium and of the Netherlands, to replace the said
Treaties of 1839. If her formal adhesions should be required to such conventions
or to any of their stipulations, Germany undertakes immediately to give it.
ARTICLE 32.
Germany recognises the full sovereignty of Belgium over the whole of the
contested territory of Moresnet (called Moresnet neutre).
ARTICLE 33.
Germany renounces in favour of Belgium all rights and title over the
territory of Prussian Moresnet situated on the west of the road from Liege to
Aix-la-Chapelle; the road will belong to Belgium where it bounds this territory.
ARTICLE 34.
Germany renounces in favour of Belgium all rights and title over the
territory comprising the whole of the Kreise of Eupen and of Malmedy. During the
six months after the coming into force of this Treaty, registers will be opened
by the Belgian authority at Eupen and Malmedy in which the inhabitants of the
above territory will be entitled to record in writing a desire to see the whole
or part of it remain under German sovereignty. The results of this public
expression of opinion will be communicated by the Belgian Government to the
League of Nations, and Belgium undertakes to accept the decision of the League.
ARTICLE 35.
A Commission of seven persons, five of whom will be appointed by the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers, one by Germany and one by Belgium, will
be set up fifteen days after the coming into force of the present Treaty to
settle on the spot the new frontier line between Belgium and Germany, taking
into account the economic factors and the means of communication. Decisions will
be taken by a majority and will be binding on the parties concerned.
ARTICLE 36.
When the transfer of the sovereignty over the territories referred to above
has become definite, German nationals habitually resident in the territories
will definitively acquire Belgian nationality ipso facto, and will lose their
German nationality. Nevertheless, German nationals who became resident in the
territories after August 1, 1914, shall not obtain Belgian nationality without a
permit from the Belgian Government.
ARTICLE 37.
Within the two years following the definitive transfer of the sovereignty
over the territories assigned to Belgium under the present Treaty, German
nationals over 18 years of age habitually resident in those territories will be
entitled to opt for German nationality. Option by a husband will cover his wife,
and option by parents will cover their children under 18 years of age. Persons
who have exercised the above right to opt must within the ensuing twelve months
transfer their place of residence to Germany. They will be entitled to retain
their immovable property in the territories acquired by Belgium. They may carry
with them their movable property of every description. No export or import
duties may be imposed upon them in connection with the removal of such property.
ARTICLE 38.
The German Government will hand over without delay to the Belgian Government
the archives, registers, plans, title deeds and documents of every kind
concerning the civil, military, financial, judicial or other administrations in
the territory transferred to Belgian sovereignty. The German Government will
likewise restore to the Belgian Government the archives and documents of every
kind carried off during the war by the German authorities from the Belgian
public administrations, in particular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at
Brussels.
ARTICLE 39.
The proportion and nature of the financial liabilities of Germany and of
Prussia with Belgium will have to bear on account of the territories ceded to
her shall be fixed in conformity with Articles 254 and 256 of Part IX (Financial
Clauses) of the present Treaty.
SECTION II.
LUXEMBURG.
ARTICLE 40.
With regard to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany renounces the benefit of
all the provisions inserted in her favour in the Treaties of February 8, 1842,
April 2, 1847, October 20-25, 1865, August 18, 1866, February 21 and May 11,
1867, May 10, 1871, June 11, 1872, and November 11, 1902, and in all Conventions
consequent upon such Treaties. Germany recognises that the Grand Duchy of
Luxemburg ceased to form part of the German Zollverein as from January 1, 1919,
renounces all rights to the exploitation of the railways, adheres to the
termination of the regime of neutrality of the Grand Duchy, and accepts in
advance all international arrangements which may be concluded by the Allied and
Associated Powers relating to the Grand Duchy.
ARTICLE 41.
Germany undertakes to grant to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, when a demand to
that effect is made to her by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, the
rights and advantages stipulated in favour of such Powers or their nationals in
the present Treaty with regard to economic questions, to questions relative to
transport and to aerial navigation.
SECTION III
LEFT BANK OF THE RHINE.
ARTICLE 42.
Germany is forbidden to maintain or construct any fortifications either on
the left bank of the Rhine or on the right bank to the west of a line drawn 50
kilometres to the East of the Rhine.
ARTICLE 43.
In the area defined above the maintenance and the assembly of armed forces,
either permanently or temporarily, and military maneuvers of any kind, as well
as the upkeep of all permanent works for mobilization, are in the same way
forbidden.
ARTICLE 44.
In case Germany violates in any manner whatever the provisions of Articles 42
and 43, she shall be regarded as committing a hostile act against the Powers
signatory of the present Treaty and as calculated to disturb the peace of the
world.
SECTION IV.
SAAR BASIN.
ARTICLE 45.
As compensation for the destruction of the coal-mines in the north of France
and as part payment towards the total reparation due from Germany for the damage
resulting from the war, Germany cedes to France in full and absolute possession,
with exclusive rights of exploitation, unencumbered and free from all debts and
charges of any kind, the coal-mines situated in the Saar Basin as defined in
Article 48.
ARTICLE 46.
In order to assure the rights and welfare of the population and to guarantee
to France complete freedom in working the mines, Germany agrees to the
provisions of Chapters I and II of the Annex hereto.
ARTICLE 47.
In order to make in due time permanent provision for the government of the
Saar Basin in accordance with the wishes of the populations, France and Germany
agree to the provisions of Chapter III of the Annex hereto.
ARTICLE 48.
The boundaries of the territory of the Saar Basin, as dealt with in the
present stipulations, will be fixed as follows: On the south and south-west: by
the frontier of France as fixed by the present Treaty. On the north-west and
north: by a line following the northern administrative boundary of the Kreis of
Merzig from the point where it leaves the French frontier to the point where it
meets the administrative boundary separating the commune of Saarholzbach from
the commune of Britten; following this communal boundary southwards and reaching
the administrative boundary of the canton of Merzig so as to include in the
territory of the Saar Basin the canton of Mettlach, with the exception of the
commune of Britten; following successively the northern boundaries of the
cantons of Merzig and Haustedt, which are incorporated in the aforesaid Saar
Basin, then successively the administrative boundaries separating the Kreise of
Sarrelouis, Ottweiler, and Saint-Wendel from the Kreise of Merzig, Treves
(Trier), and the Principality of Birkenfeld as far as a point situated about 500
metres north of the village of Furschweiler (viz., the highest point of the
Metzelberg). On the north-east and east: from the last point defined above to a
point about 3 1/2 kilometres east- north-east of Saint-Wendel: a line to be
fixed on the ground passing east of Furschweiler, west of Roschberg, east of
points 418, 329 (south of Roschberg) west of Leitersweiler, north-east of point
464, and following the line of the crest southwards to its junction with the
administrative boundary of the Kreis of Kusel thence in a southerly direction
the boundary of the Kreis of Kusel, then the boundary of the Kreis of Homburg
towards the south-south- east to a point situated about 1000 metres west of
Dunzweiler; thence to a point about 1 kilometre south of Hornbach- a line to be
fixed on the ground passing through point 424 (about 1000 metres south-east of
Dunzweiler), point 363 (Fuchs-Berg), point 322 (south-west of Waldmohr), then
east of Jagersburg and Erbach, then encircling Homburg, passing through the
points 361 (about 2-1/2 kilometres north-east by east of that town), 342 (about
2 kilometres south-east of that town), 347 (Schreiners-Berg), 356, 350 (about
1-1/2 kilometres south-east of Schwarzenbach), then passing east of Einod,
south-east of points 322 and 333, about 2 kilometres east of Webenheim, about 2
kilometres east of Mimbach, passing east of the plateau which is traversed by
the road from Mimbach to Bockweiler (so as to include this road in the territory
of the Saar Basin), passing immediately north of the junction of the roads from
Bockweiler and Altheim situated about 2 kilometres north of Altheim, then
passing south of Ringweilerhof and north of point 322, rejoining the frontier of
France at the angle which it makes about 1 kilometre south of Hornbach (see Map
No. 2 scale 1/100,000 annexed to the present treaty). [See Introduction ]
A Commission composed of five members, one appointed by France, one by
Germany, and three by the Council of the League of Nations, which will select
nationals of other Powers, will be constituted within fifteen days from the
coming into force of the present Treaty, to trace on the spot the frontier line
described above.
In those parts of the preceding line which do not coincide with
administrative boundaries, the Commission will endeavour to keep to the line
indicated, while taking into consideration, so far as is possible, local
economic interests and existing communal boundaries.
The decisions of this Commission will be taken by a majority, and will be
binding on the parties concerned.
ARTICLE 49.
Germany renounces in favour of the League of Nations, in the capacity of
trustee, the government of the territory defined above.
At the end of fifteen years from the coming into force of the present Treaty
the inhabitants of the said territory shall be called upon to indicate the
sovereignty under which they desire to be placed.
ARTICLE 50.
The stipulations under which the cession of the mines in the Saar Basin shall
be carried out, together with the measures intended to guarantee the rights and
the well-being of the inhabitants and the government of the territory, as well
as the conditions in accordance with which the plebiscite herein before provided
for is to be made, are laid down in the Annex hereto. This Annex shall be
considered as an integral part of the present Treaty, and Germany declares her
adherence to it.
ANNEX.
In accordance with the provisions of Articles 45 to 50 of the present Treaty,
the stipulations under which the cession by Germany to France of the mines of
the Saar Basin will be effected, as well as the measures intended to ensure
respect for the rights and well- being of the population and the government of
the territory, and the conditions in which the inhabitants will be called upon
to indicate the sovereignty under which they may wish to be placed, have been
laid down as follows:
CHAPTER I.
CESSION AND EXPLOITATION OF MINING PROPERTY,
From the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty,
all the deposits of coal situated within the Saar Basin as defined
in Article 48 of the said Treaty, become the complete and absolute property
of the French State.
The French State will have the right of working or not working the said
mines, or of transferring to a third party the right of working them, without
having to obtain any previous authorisation or to fulfil any formalities.
The French State may always require that the German mining laws and
regulations referred to below shall be applied in order to ensure the
determination of its rights.
2.
The right of ownership of the French State will apply not only to the
deposits which are free and for which concessions have not yet been granted, but
also to the deposits for which concessions have already been granted, whoever
may be the present proprietors, irrespective of whether they belong to the
Prussian State, to the Bavarian State, to other States or bodies, to companies
or to individuals, whether they have been worked or not, or whether a right of
exploitation distinct from the right of the owners of the surface of the soil
has or has not been recognised.
3.
As far as concerns the mines which are being worked, the transfer of the
ownership to the French State will apply to all the accessories and subsidiaries
of the said mines, in particular to their plant and equipment both on and below
the surface to their extracting machinery, their plants for transforming coal
into electric power, coke and by-products, their workshops means of
communication, electric lines, plant for catching and distributing water, land,
buildings such as offices, managers, employees, and workmen's dwellings,
schools, hospitals and dispensaries, their stocks and supplies of every
description, their archives and plans, and in general everything which those who
own or exploit the mines possess or enjoy for the purpose of exploiting the
mines and their accessories and subsidiaries.
The transfer will apply also to the debts owing for products delivered before
the entry into possession by the French State and after the signature of the
present Treaty, and to deposits of money made by customers, whose rights will be
guaranteed by the French State.
4.
The French State will acquire the property free and clear of all debts and
charges. Nevertheless, the rights acquired, or in course of being acquired, by
the employees of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries at the date of
the coming into force of the present Treaty, in connection with pensions for old
age or disability, will not be affected. In return, Germany must pay over to the
French State a sum representing the actuarial amounts to which the said
employees are entitled.
5.
The value of the property thus ceded to the French State will be determined
by the Reparation Commission referred to in Article 233 of Part VIII
(Reparation) of the present Treaty.
This value shall be credited to Germany in part payment of the amount due for
reparation. It will be for Germany to indemnify the proprietors or parties
concerned, whoever they may be.
6.
No tariff shall be established on the German railways and canals which may
directly or indirectly discriminate to the prejudice of the transport of the
personnel or products of the mines and their accessories or subsidiaries, or of
the material necessary to their exploitation. Such transport shall enjoy all the
rights and privileges which any international railway conventions may .
guarantee to similar products of French origin.
7. The equipment and personnel necessary to ensure the despatch and transport
of the products of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries, as well as
the carriage of workmen and employees, will be provided by the local railway
administration of the Basin.
8.
No obstacle shall be placed in the way of such improvements of railways or
waterways as the French State may judge necessary to assure the despatch and the
transport of the products of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries,
such as double trackage, enlargement of stations, and construction of yards and
appurtenances. The distribution of expenses will, in the event of disagreement,
be submitted to arbitration.
The French State may also establish any new means of communication, such as
roads, electric lines, and telephone connections which it may consider necessary
for the exploitation of the mines it may exploit freely and without any
restrictions the means of communication of which it may become the owner,
particularly those connecting the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries
with the means of communication situated in French territory.
9.
The French State shall always be entitled to demand the application of the
German mining laws and regulations in force on November 11, 1918, excepting
provisions adopted exclusively in view of the state of war, with a view to the
acquisition of such land as it may judge necessary for the exploitation of the
mines and their accessories and subsidiaries.
The payment for damage caused to immovable property by the working of the
said mines and their accessories and subsidiaries shall be made in accordance
with the German mining laws and regulations above referred to.
10.
Every person whom the French State may substitute for itself as regards the
whole or part of its rights to the exploitation of the mines and their
accessories and subsidiaries shall enjoy the benefit of the privileges provided
in this Annex.
11.
The mines and other immovable property which become the property of the
French State may never be made the subject of measures of forfeiture, forced
sale, expropriation or requisition, nor of any other measure affecting the right
of property.
The personnel and the plant connected with the exploitation of these mines or
their accessories and subsidiaries, as well as the product extracted from the
mines or manufactured in their accessories and subsidiaries, may not at any time
be made the subject of any measures of requisition.
The exploitation of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries, which
become the property of the French State will continue, subject to the provisions
of paragraph 23 below, to be subject to the regime established by the German
laws and regulations in force on November 11, 1918, excepting provisions adopted
exclusively in view of the state of war.
The rights of the workmen shall similarly be maintained, subject to the
provisions of the said paragraph 23, as established on November 11, 1918, by the
German laws and regulations above referred to.
No impediment shall be placed in the way of the introduction or employment in
the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries of workmen from without the
Basin.
The employees and workmen of French nationality shall have the right to
belong to French labour unions.
13.
The amount contributed by the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries,
either to the local budget of the territory of the Saar Basin or to the communal
funds, shall be fixed with due regard to the ratio of the value of the mines to
the total taxable wealth of the Basin.
14.
The French State shall always have the right of establishing and maintaining,
as incidental to the mines, primary or technical schools for its employees and
their children, and of causing instruction therein to be given in the French
language, in accordance with such curriculum and by such teachers as it may
select.
It shall also have the right to establish and maintain hospitals,
dispensaries, workmen's houses and gardens, and other charitable and social
institutions.
15.
The French State shall enjoy complete liberty with respect to the
distribution, dispatch and sale prices of-the products of the mines and their
accessories and subsidiaries.
Nevertheless, whatever may be the total product of the mines, the French
Government undertakes that the requirements of local consumption for industrial
and domestic purposes shall always be satisfied in the proportion existing in
1913 between the amount consumed locally and the total output of the Saar Basin.
CHAPTER II.
GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE SAAR BASIN.
16.
The Government of the territory of the Saar Basin shall be entrusted to a
Commission representing the League of Nations. This Commission shall sit in the
territory of the Saar Basin.
17.
The Governing Commission provided for by paragraph 16 shall consist of five
members chosen by the Council of the League of Nations, and will include one
citizen of France, one native inhabitant of the Saar Basin, not a citizen of
France, and three members belonging to three countries other than France or
Germany.
The members of the Governing Commission shall be appointed for one year and
may be re-appointed. They can be removed by the Council of the League of
Nations, which will provide for their replacement.
The members of the Governing Commission will be entitled to a salary which
will be fixed by the Council of the League of Nations, and charged on the local
revenues.
18.
The Chairman of the Governing Commission shall be appointed for one year from
among the members of the Commission by the Council of the League of Nations and
may be re-appointed. The Chairman will act as the executive of the Commission.
19.
Within the territory of the Saar Basin the Governing Commission shall have
all-the powers of government hitherto belonging to the German Empire, Prussia,
or Bavaria, including the appointment and dismissal of officials, and the
creation of such administrative and representative bodies as it may deem
necessary.
It shall have full powers to administer and operate the railways, canals, and
the different public services. Its decisions shall be taken by a majority.
20.
Germany will place at the disposal of the Governing Commission all official
documents and archives under the control of Germany, of any German State, or of
any local authority, which relate to the territory of the Saar Basin or to the
rights of the inhabitants thereof.
21.
It will be the duty of the Governing Commission to ensure, by such means and
under such conditions as it may deem suitable, the protection abroad of the
interests of the inhabitants of the territory of the Saar Basin.
22.
The Governing Commission shall have the full right of user of all property,
other than mines, belonging, either in public or in private domain, to the
Government of the German Empire, or the Government of any German State, in the
territory of the Saar Basin.
As regards the railways an equitable apportionment of rolling stock shall be
made by a mixed Commission on which the Government of the territory of the Saar
Basin and the German railways will be represented.
Persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails coming from or going to
the Saar Basin shall enjoy all the rights and privileges relating to transit and
transport which are specified in the provisions of Part XII (Ports, Waterways
and Railways) of the present Treaty.
23.
The laws and regulations in force on November 11, 1918, in the territory of
the Saar Basin (except those enacted in consequence of the state of war) shall
continue to apply.
If, for general reasons or to bring these laws and regulations into accord
with the provisions of the present Treaty, it is necessary to introduce
modifications, these shall be decided on, and put into effect by the Governing
Commission, after consultation with the elected representatives of the
inhabitants in such a manner as the Commission may determine.
No modification may be made in the legal regime for the exploitation of the
mines, provided for in paragraph 12, without the French State being previously
consulted, unless such modification results from a general regulation respecting
labour adopted by the League of Nations.
In fixing the conditions and hours of labour for men, women and children, the
Governing Commission is to take into consideration the wishes expressed by the
local labour organisations, as well as the principles adopted by the League of
Nations.
24.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4, no rights of the inhabitants of the
Saar Basin acquired or in process of acquisition at the date of coming into
force of this Treaty, in respect of any insurance system of Germany or in
respect of any pension of any kind, are affected by any of the provisions of the
present Treaty.
Germany and the Government of the territory of the Saar Basin will preserve
and continue all of the aforesaid rights.
25.
The civil and criminal courts existing in the territory of the Saar Basin
shall continue.
A civil and criminal court will be established by the Governing Commission to
hear appeals from the decisions of the said courts
and to decide matters for which these courts are not competent.
The Governing Commission will be responsible for settling the organisation
and jurisdiction of the said court.
Justice will be rendered in the name of the Governing Commission.
26.
The Governing Commission will alone have the power of levying taxes and dues
in the territory of Saar Basin.
These taxes and dues will be exclusively applied to the needs of the
territory.
The fiscal system existing on November 11, 1918, will be maintained as far as
possible, and no new tax except customs duties may be imposed without previously
consulting the elected representatives of the inhabitants.
27.
The present stipulation will not affect the existing nationality of the
inhabitants of the territory of the Saar Basin.
No hindrance shall be placed in the way of those who wish to acquire a
different nationality, but in such case the acquisition of the new nationality
will involve the loss of any other.
28.
Under the control of the Governing Commission the inhabitants will retain
their local assemblies, their religious liberties, their schools and their
language.
The right of voting will not be exercised for any assemblies other than the
local assemblies, and will belong to every inhabitant over the age of twenty
years, without distinction of sex.
29.
Any of the inhabitants of the Saar Basin who may desire to leave the
territory will have full liberty to retain in it their immovable property or to
sell it at fair prices, and to remove their movable property free of any
charges.
30.
There will be no military service, whether compulsory or voluntary, in the
territory of the Saar Basin, and the construction of fortifications therein is
forbidden.
Only a local gendarmerie for the maintenance of order may be established.
It will be the duty of the Governing Commission to provide in all cases for
the protection of persons and property in the Saar Basin.
31.
The territory of the Saar Basin as defined by Article 48 of the present
Treaty shall be subjected to the French customs regime. The receipts from the
customs duties on goods intended for local consumption shall be included in the
budget of the said territory after deduction of all costs of collection.
No export tax shall be imposed upon metallurgical products or coal exported
from the said territory to Germany, nor upon the German exports for the use of
the industries of the territory of the Saar Basin.
Natural or manufactured products originating in the Basin in transit over
German territory and, similarly, German products in
transit over the territory of the Basin shall be free of all customs duties.
Products which both originate in and pass from the Basin into Germany shall
be free of import duties for a period of five years from the date of the coming
into force of the present Treaty, and during the same period articles imported
from Germany into the territory of the Basin for local consumption, shall
likewise be free of import duties.
During these five years the French Government reserves to itself the right of
limiting to the annual average of the quantities imported into Alsace-Lorraine
and France in the years 1911 to 1913 the quantities which may be sent into
France of all articles coming from the Basin which include raw materials and
semimanufactured goods imported duty free from Germany. Such average shall be
determined after reference to all available official information and statistics.
32.
No prohibition or restriction shall be imposed upon the circulation of French
money in the territory of the Saar Basin.
The French State shall have the right to use French money in all purchases,
payments, and contracts connected with the exploitation of the mines or their
accessories and subsidiaries.
33.
The Governing Commission shall have power to decide all questions arising
from the interpretation of the preceding provisions.
France and Germany agree that any dispute involving a difference of opinion
as to the interpretation of the said provision shall in the same way be
submitted to the Governing Commission and the decision of a majority of the
Commission shall be binding on both countries.
CHAPTER III.
PLEBISCITE.
34.
At the termination of a period of fifteen years from the coming into force of
the present Treaty, the population of the territory
of the Saar Basin will be called upon to indicate their desires in the
following manner: A vote will take place by communes or districts, on the three
following alternatives: (a) maintenance of the regime established by the present
Treaty and by this Annex; (b) union with France; (c) union with Germany.
All persons without distinction of sex, more than twenty years old at the
date of the voting, resident in the territory at the date of the signature of
the present Treaty, will have the right to vote.
The other conditions, methods, and the date of the voting shall be fixed by
the Council of the League of Nations in such a way as to secure the freedom,
secrecy and trustworthiness of the voting
35.
The League of Nations shall decide on the sovereignty under which the
territory is to be placed, taking into account the wishes of the inhabitants as
expressed by the voting.
(a) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations decides
in favour of the maintenance of the regime established by the present Treaty and
this Annex, Germany hereby agrees to make such renunciation of her sovereignty
in favour of the League of Nations as the latter shall deem necessary. It will
be the duty of the League of Nations to take appropriate steps to adapt the
regime definitively adopted to the permanent welfare of the territory and the
general interest;
(b) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations decides
in favour of union with France, Germany hereby agrees to cede to France in
accordance with the decision of the League of Nations, all rights and title over
the territory specified by the League.
(c) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations decides
in favour of union with Germany, it will be the duty of the League of Nations to
cause the German Government to be re-established in the government of the
territory specified by the League.
36.
If the League of Nations decides in favour of the union of the whole or part
of the territory of the Saar Basin with Germany, France's rights of ownership in
the mines situated in such part of
the territory will be repurchased by Germany in their entirety at
a price payable in gold. The price to be paid will be fixed by three experts,
one nominated by Germany, one by France, and one,
who shall be neither a Frenchman nor a German, by the Council
of the League of Nations; the decision of the experts will be given by a
majority.
The obligation of Germany to make such payment shall be
taken into account by the Reparation Commission, and for the
purpose of this payment Germany may create a prior charge upon her assets or
revenues upon such detailed terms as shall be agreed to by the Reparation
Commission. If, nevertheless, Germany after a period of one year from the date
on which the payment becomes due shall not have effected the said payment, the
Reparation Commission shall do so in accordance with such instructions as may be
given by the League of Nations, and, if necessary, by liquidating that part of
the mines which is in question.
37.
If, in consequence of the repurchase provided for in paragraph
36, the ownership of the mines or any part of them is transferred to Germany,
the French State and French nationals shall have
the right to purchase such amount of coal of the Saar Basin as
their industrial and domestic needs are found at that time to
require. An equitable arrangement regarding amounts of coal,
duration of contract, and prices will be fixed in due time by the
Council of the League of Nations.
38.
It is understood that France and Germany may, by special
agreements concluded before the time fixed for the payment of
the price for the repurchase of the mines, modify the provisions
of paragraphs 36 and 37.
39.
The Council of the League of Nations shall make such provisions as may be
necessary for the establishment of the regime
which is to take effect after the decisions of the League of Nations
mentioned in paragraph 35 have become operative, including an equitable
apportionment of any obligations of the Government of the territory of the Saar
Basin arising from loans raised by the Commission or from other causes.
From the coming into force of the new regime, the powers of the Governing
Commission will terminate, except in the case provided for in paragraph 35 (a).
In all matters dealt with in the present Annex, the decisions of the Council
of the League of Nations will be taken by a majority.
SECTION V.
ALSACE-LORRAINE.
The HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, recognising the moral obligation to redress the
wrong done by Germany in 1871 both to the rights of France and to the wishes of
the population of Alsace and Lorraine, which were separated from their country
in spite of the solemn protest of their representatives at the Assembly of
Bordeaux
Agree upon the following Articles:
ARTICLE 5l.
The territories which were ceded to Germany in accordance with the
Preliminaries of Peace signed at Versailles on February 26, 187l, and the Treaty
of Frankfort of May lo, 1871, are restored to French sovereignty as from the
date of the Armistice of November 11, 1918.
The provisions of the Treaties establishing the delimitation of the frontiers
before 1871 shall be restored.
ARTICLE 52.
The German Government shall hand over without delay to the French Government
all archives, registers, plans, titles and documents of every kind concerning
the civil, military, financial, judicial or other administrations of the
territories restored to French sovereignty. If any of these documents, archives,
registers, titles or plans nave been misplaced, they will be restored by the
German Government on the demand of the French Government.
ARTICLE 53.
Separate agreements shall be made between France and Germany dealing with the
interests of the inhabitants of the territories referred to in Article 51,
particularly as regards their civil rights, their business and the exercise of
their professions, it being understood that Germany undertakes as from the
present date to recognise and accept the regulations laid down in the Annex
hereto regarding the nationality of the inhabitants or natives of the said
territories, not to claim at any time or in any place whatsoever as German
nationals those who shall have been declared on any ground to be French, to
receive all others in her territory, and to conform, as regards the property of
German nationals in the territories indicated in Article 51, with the provisions
of Article 297 and the Annex to Section IV of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the
present Treaty.
Those German nationals who without acquiring French nationality shall receive
permission from the French Government to reside in the said territories shall
not be subjected to the provisions of the said Article.
ARTICLE 54.
Those persons who have regained French nationality in virtue of paragraph 1
of the Annex hereto will be held to be Alsace- Lorrainers for the purposes of
the present Section.
The persons referred to in paragraph 2 of the said Annex will from the day on
which they have claimed French nationality be held to be Alsace-Lorrainers with
retroactive effect as from November 11, 1918. For those whose application is
rejected, the privilege will terminate at the date of the refusal.
Such juridical persons will also have the status of AlsaceLorrainers as shall
have been recognised as possessing this quality whether by the French
administrative authorities or by a judicial decision.
ARTICLE 55.
The territories referred to in Article 5l shall return to France free and
quit of all public debts under the conditions laid down in Article 255 of Part
IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 56.
In conformity with the provisions of Article 256 of Part IX (Financial
Clauses) of the present Treaty, France shall enter into
possession of all property and estate, within the territories referred to in
Article 5l, which belong to the German Empire or German States, without any
payment or credit on this account to any of the States ceding the territories.
This provision applies to all movable or immovable property of public or
private domain together with all rights whatsoever belonging to the German
Empire or German States or to their administrative areas.
Crown property and the property of the former Emperor or other German
sovereigns shall be assimilated to property of the public domain.
ARTICLE 57.
Germany shall not take any action, either by means of stamping or by any
other legal or administrative measures not applying equally to the rest of her
territory, which may be to the detriment of the legal value or redeemability of
Germany monetary instruments or monies which, at the date of the signature of
the present Treaty, are legally current, and at that date are in the possession
of the French Government.
ARTICLE 58.
A special Convention will determine the conditions for repayment in marks of
the exceptional war expenditure advanced during the course of the war by
Alsace-Lorraine or by the public bodies in Alsace- Lorraine on account of the
Empire in accordance with German law, such as payment to the families of persons
mobilised, requisitions, billeting of troops, and assistance to persons who have
been evacuated. In fixing the amount of these sums Germany shall be credited
with that portion which Alsace-Lorraine would have contributed to the Empire to
meet the expenses resulting from these payments, this contribution being
calculated according to the proportion of the Imperial revenues derived from
Alsace-Lorraine in l913.
ARTICLE 59.
The French Government will collect for its own account the Imperial taxes,
duties and dues of every kind leviable in the territories referred to in Article
5l and not collected at the time of the Armistice of November 11, 19l8.
ARTICLE 60.
The German Government shall without delay restore to AlsaceLorrainers
(individuals, juridical persons and public institutions) all property, rights
and interests belonging to them on November 11, 1918, in so far as these are
situated in German territory.
ARTICLE 61.
The German Government undertakes to continue and complete without delay the
execution of the financial clauses regarding Alsace- Lorraine contained in the
Armistice Conventions.
ARTICLE 62.
The German Government undertakes to bear the expense of all civil and
military pensions which had been earned in Alsace. Lorraine on date of November
11, 1918, and the maintenance of which was a charge on the budget of the German
Empire.
The German Government shall furnish each year the funds necessary for the
payment in francs, at the average rate of exchange for that year, of the sums in
marks to which persons resident in Alsace- Lorraine would have been entitled if
Alsace-Lorraine had remained under German jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 63.
For the purposes of the obligation assumed by Germany in Part VIII
(Reparation) of the present Treaty to give compensation for damages caused to
the civil populations of the Allied and Associated countries in the form of
fines, the inhabitants of the territories referred to in Article 51 shall be
assimilated to the above- mentioned populations.
ARTICLE 64.
The regulations concerning the control of the Rhine and of the Moselle are
laid down in Part XII (Ports, Waterways and Railways) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 65.
Within a period of three weeks after the coming into force of the present
Treaty, the port of Strasburg and the port of Kehl shall be constituted, for a
period of seven years, a single unit from the point of view of exploitation.
The administration of this single unit will be carried on by a manager named
by the Central Rhine Commission, which shall also have power to remove him.
This manager shall be of French nationality.
He will reside in Strasburg and will be subject to the supervision of the
Central Rhine Commission.
There will be established in the two ports free zones in conformity with Part
XII (Ports, Waterways and Railways) of the present Treaty.
A special Convention between France and Germany which shall be submitted to
the approval of the Central Rhine Commission, will fix the details of this
organisation, particularly as regards finance.
It is understood that for the purpose of the present Article the port of Kehl
includes the whole of the area necessary for the movement of the port and the
trains which serve it, including the harbour, quays and railroads, platforms,
cranes, sheds and warehouses, silos, elevators and hydro-electric plants, which
make up the equipment of the port.
The German Government undertakes to carry out all measures which shall be
required of it in order to assure that all the making-up and switching of trains
arriving at or departing from Kehl, whether for the right bank or the left bank
of the Rhine, shall be carried on in the best conditions possible.
All property rights shall be safeguarded. In particular the administration of
the ports shall not prejudice any property rights of the French or Baden
railroads.
Equality of treatment as respects traffic shall be assured in both ports to
the nationals, vessels and goods of every country.
In case at the end of the sixth year France shall consider that the progress
made in the improvement of the port of Strasbourg still requires a prolongation
of this temporary regime, she may ask for such prolongation from the Central
Rhine Commission, which may grant an extension for a period not exceeding three
years.
Throughout the whole period of any such extension the free zones above
provided for shall be maintained.
Pending appointment of the first manager by the Central Rhine Commission a
provisional manager who shall be of French nationality may be appointed by the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers subject to the foregoing provisions.
For all purposes of the present Article the Central Rhine Commission will
decide by a majority of votes.
ARTICLE 66.
The railway and other bridges across the Rhine now existing within the limits
of Alsace-Lorraine shall, as to all their parts and their whole length, be the
property of the French State, which shall ensure their upkeep.
ARTICLE 67.
The French Government is substituted in all the rights of the German Empire
over all the railways which were administered by the Imperial railway
administration and which are actually working or under construction.
The same shall apply to the rights of the Empire with regard to railway and
tramway concessions within the territories referred to in Article 51.
This substitution shall not entail any payment on the part of the French
State.
The frontier railway stations shall be established by a subsequent agreement,
it being stipulated in advance that on the Rhine frontier they shall be situated
on the right bank.
ARTICLE 68.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 268 of Chapter I of Section I of
Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, for a period of five years from
the coming into force of the present Treaty, natural or manufactured products
originating in and coming from the territories referred to in Article 51 shall,
on importation into German customs territory, be exempt from all customs duty.
The French Government may fix each year, by decree communicated to the German
Government, the nature and amount of the products which shall enjoy this
exemption.
The amount of each product which may be thus sent annually into Germany shall
not exceed the average of the amounts sent annually in the years 1911-1913.
Further, during the period of five years above mentioned, the German
Government shall allow the free export from Germany and the free reimportation
into Germany, exempt from all customs, duties and other charges (including
internal charges), of yarns, tissues, and other textile materials or textile
products of any kind and in any condition, sent from Germany into the
territories referred to in Article 51, to be subjected there to any finishing
process, such as bleaching, dyeing, printing, mercerization, gassing, twisting
or dressing.
ARTICLE 69.
During a period of ten years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, central electric supply works situated in German territory and formerly
furnishing electric power to the territories referred to in Article 51 or to any
establishment the working of which passes permanently or temporarily from
Germany to France, shall be required to continue such supply up to the amount of
consumption corresponding to the undertakings and contracts current on November
11, 1918.
Such supply shall be furnished according to the contracts in force and at a
rate which shall not be higher than that paid to the said works by German
nationals.
ARTICLE 70.
It is understood that the French Government preserves its right to prohibit
in the future in the territories referred to in Article 51 all new German
participation:
(1) In the management or exploitation of the public domain and of public
services, such as railways, navigable waterways, water works, gas works,
electric power, etc. ;
(2) In the ownership of mines and quarries of every kind and in enterprises
connected therewith;
(3) In metallurgical establishments, even though their working may not be
connected with that of any mine.
ARTICLE 71.
As regards the territories referred to in Article 51, Germany renounces on
behalf of herself and her nationals as from November 11, 1918, all rights under
the law of May 25, 1910, regarding the trade in potash salts, and generally
under any stipulations for the intervention of German organisations in the
working of the potash mines. Similarly, she renounces on behalf of herself and
her- nationals all rights under any agreements, stipulations or laws which may
exist to her benefit with regard to other products of the aforesaid territories.
ARTICLE 72.
The settlement of the questions relating to debts contracted before November
11, 1918, between the German Empire and the German States or their nationals
residing in Germany on the one part and Alsace- Lorrainers residing in
Alsace-Lorraine on the other part shall be effected in accordance with the
provisions of Section III of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty,
the expression "before the war" therein being replaced by the expression "before
November 11, 1918,. The rate of exchange applicable in the case of such
settlement shall be the average rate quoted on the Geneva Exchange during the
month preceding November 11, 1918.
There may be established in the territories referred to in Article 51, for
the settlement of the aforesaid debts under the conditions laid down in Section
III of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, a special clearing
office, it being understood that this office shall be regarded as a "central
office" under the provisions of paragraph 1 of the Annex to the said Section.
ARTICLE 73.
The private property, rights and interests of Alsace-Lorrainers in Germany
will be regulated by the stipulations of Section IV of Part X (Economic Clauses)
of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 74.
The French Government reserves the right to retain and liquidate all the
property, rights and interests which German nationals or societies controlled by
Germany possessed in the territories referred to in Article 51 on November 11,
1918, subject to the conditions laid down in the last paragraph of Article 53
above. Germany will directly compensate her nationals who may have been
dispossessed by the aforesaid liquidations. The product of these liquidations
shall be applied in accordance with the stipulations of Sections III and IV of
Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 75.
Notwithstanding the stipulations of Section V of Part X (Economic Clauses) of
the present Treaty, all contracts made before the date of the promulgation in
Alsace-Lorraine of the French decree of November 30, 1918, between
Alsace-Lorrainers (whether individuals or juridical persons) or others resident
in Alsace-Lorraine on the one part and the German Empire or German States and
their nationals resident in Germany on the other part, the execution of which
has been suspended by the Armistice or by subsequent French legislation, shall
be maintained.
Nevertheless, any contract of which the French Government shall notify the
cancellation to Germany in the general interest within a period of six months
from the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, shall be annulled
except in respect of any debt or other pecuniary obligation arising out of any
act done or money paid thereunder before November 11, 1918. If this dissolution
would cause one of the parties substantial prejudice, equitable compensation,
calculated solely on the capital employed without taking account of loss of
profits, shall be accorded to the prejudiced party.
With regard to prescriptions, limitations and forfeitures in Alsace-Lorraine,
the provisions of Articles 300 and 301 of Section V of Part X (Economic Clauses)
shall be applied with the substitution for the expression "outbreak of war" of
the expression "November 11, 1918", and for the expression "duration of the war"
of the expression "period from November 11, 1918, to the date of the coming into
force of the present Treaty".
ARTICLE 76.
Questions concerning rights in industrial, literary or artistic property of
Alsace-Lorrainers shall be regulated in accordance with the general stipulations
of Section VII of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, it being
understood that Alsace-Lorrainers holding rights of this nature under German
legislation will preserve full and entire enjoyment of those rights on German
territory.
ARTICLE 77.
The German Government undertakes to pay over to the French Government such
proportion of all reserves accumulated by the Empire or by public or private
bodies dependent upon it, for the purposes of disability and old age insurance,
as would fall to the disability and old age insurance fund at Strasbourg.
The same shall apply in respect of the capital and reserves accumulated in
Germany falling legitimately to other social insurance funds, to miners,
superannuation funds, to the fund of the railways of Alsace-Lorraine, to other
superannuation organisations established for the benefit of the personnel of
public administrations and institutions operating in Alsace- Lorraine and also
in respect of the capital and reserves due by the insurance fund of private
employees at Berlin, by reason of engagements entered into for the benefit of
insured persons of that category resident in Alsace-Lorraine. A special
Convention shall determine the conditions and procedure of these transfers.
ARTICLE 78.
With regard to the execution of judgments, appeals and prosecutions, the
following rules shall be applied:
(1) All civil and commercial judgments which shall have been given since
August 3, 1914, by the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine between Alsace-Lorrainers, or
between Alsace-Lorrainers and foreigners, or between foreigners, and which shall
not have been appealed from before November 11, 1918, shall be regarded as final
and susceptible of immediate execution without further formality.
When the judgment has been given between Alsace-Lorrainers and Germans or
between Alsace-Lorrainers and subjects of the allies of Germany, it shall only
be capable of execution after the issue of an exequatur by the corresponding new
tribunal in the restored territory referred to in Article 51.
(2) All judgments given by German Courts since August 3, 1914, against
Alsace-Lorrainers for political crimes or misdemeanors shall be regarded as null
and void.
(3) All sentences passed since November 11, 1918, by the Court of the Empire
at Leipzig on appeals against the decisions of the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine
shall be regarded as null and void and shall be so pronounced. The papers in
regard to the cases in which such sentences have been given shall be returned to
the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine concerned.
All appeals to the Court of the Empire against decisions of the Courts of
Alsace-Lorraine shall be suspended. The papers shall be returned under the
aforesaid conditions for transfer without delay to the French Cour de Cassation,
which shall be competent to decide them.
(4) All prosecutions in Alsace-Lorraine for offences committed during the
period between November 11, 1918, and the coming into force of the present
Treaty will be conducted under German law except in so far as this has been
modified by decrees duly published on the spot by the French authorities.
(5) All other questions as to competence, procedure or administration of
justice shall be determined by a special Convention between France and Germany.
ARTICLE 79.
The stipulations as to nationality contained in the Annex hereto shall be
considered as of equal force with the provisions of the present Section.
All other questions concerning Alsace-Lorraine which are not regulated by the
present Section and the Annex thereto or by the general provisions of the
present Treaty will form the subject of further conventions between France and
Germany.
ANNEX.
1.
As from November 11, 1918, the following persons are ipso facto reinstated in
French nationality:
(1) Persons who lost French nationality by the application of the
Franco-German Treaty of May 10, 1871, and who have not since that date acquired
any nationality other than German;
(2) The legitimate or natural descendants of the persons referred to in the
immediately preceding paragraph, with the exception of those whose ascendants in
the paternal line include a German who migrated into Alsace-Lorraine after July
15, 1870;
(3) All persons born in Alsace-Lorraine of unknown parents, L or whose
nationality is unknown.
2.
Within the period of one year from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, persons included in any of the following categories may claim French
nationality:
(1) All persons not restored to French nationality under paragraph 1 above,
whose ascendants include a Frenchman or Frenchwoman who lost French nationality
under the conditions referred to in the said paragraph;
(2) All foreigners, not nationals of a German State, who acquired the status
of a citizen of Alsace-Lorraine before August 3, 1914;
(3) All Germans domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine, if they have been so domiciled
since a date previous to July 15, 1870, or if one of their ascendants was at
that date domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine;
(4) All Germans born or domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine who have served in the
Allied or Associated armies during the present war, and their descendants;
(5) All persons born in Alsace-Lorraine before May 10, 1871, of foreign
parents, and the descendants of such persons;
(6) The husband or wife of any person whose French nationality may have been
restored under paragraph 1, or who may have claimed and obtained French
nationality in accordance with the preceding provisions.
The legal representative of a minor may exercise, on behalf of that minor,
the right to claim French nationality; and if that right has not been exercised,
the minor may claim French nationality within the year following his majority.
Except in the cases provided for in No.(6) of the present paragraph, the
French authorities reserve to themselves the right, in individual cases, to
reject the claim to French nationality.
3.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, Germans born or domiciled in
Alsace-Lorraine shall not acquire French nationality by reason of the
restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France, even though they may have the status
of citizens of Alsace-Lorraine.
They may acquire French nationality only by naturalisation, on condition of
having been domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine from a date previous to August 3, 1914,
and of submitting proof of unbroken residence within the restored territory for
a period of three years from November 11, 1918.
France will be solely responsible for their diplomatic and consular
protection from the date of their application for French naturalisation.
The French Government shall determine the procedure by which reinstatement in
French nationality as of right shall be effected, and the conditions under which
decisions shall be given upon claims to such nationality and applications for
naturalisation, as provided by the present Annex.
SECTION VI.
AUSTRIA.
ARTICLE 80.
Germany acknowledges and will respect strictly the independence of Austria,
within the frontiers which may be fixed in a Treaty between that State and the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers; she agrees that this independence shall
be inalienable, except with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations.
SECTION VII.
CZECH0-SLOVAK STATE.
ARTICLE 81.
Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by the Allied and
Associated Powers, recognises the complete independence of the Czecho-Slovak
State which will include the autonomous territory of the Ruthenians to the south
of the Carpathians. Germany hereby recognises the frontiers of this State as
determined by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and the other
interested States.
ARTICLE 82.
The old frontier as it existed on August 3, 1914, between Austria- Hungary
and the German Empire will constitute the frontier between Germany and the
Czecho-Slovak State.
ARTICLE 83.
Germany renounces in favour of the Czecho-Slovak State all rights and title
over the portion of Silesian territory defined as follows: starting from a point
about 2 kilometres south-east of Katscher, on the boundary between the Kreise of
Leobschutz and Ratibor: the boundary between the two Kreise; then, the former
boundary between Germany and Austria-Hungary up to a point on the Oder
immediately to the south of the Ratibor-Oderberg railway; thence, towards the
north-west and up to a point about 2 kilometres to the south-east of Katscher: a
line to be fixed on the spot passing to the west of Kranowitz. A Commission
composed of seven members, five nominated by the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers, one by Poland and one by the Czecho-Slovak State, will be appointed
fifteen days after the coming into force of the present Treaty to trace on the
spot the frontier line between Poland and the Czecho-Slovak State. The decisions
of this Commission will be taken by a majority and shall be binding on the
parties concerned. Germany hereby agrees to renounce in favour of the
Czecho-Slovak State all rights and title over the part of the Kreis of
Leobschutz comprised within the following boundaries in case after the
determination of the frontier between Germany and Poland the said part of that
Kreis should become isolated from Germany: from the south-eastern extremity of
the salient of the former Austrian frontier at about 5 kilometres to the west of
Leobschutz southwards and up to the point of junction with the boundary between
the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor: the former frontier between Germany and
Austria-Hungary; then, northwards, the administrative boundary between the
Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor up to a point situated about 2 kilometres to
the south-east of Katscher; thence, north-westwards and up to the starting-point
of this definition: a line to be fixed on the spot passing to the east of
Katscher,
ARTICLE 84.
German nationals habitually resident in any of the territories recognised as
forming part of the Czecho-Slovak State will obtain Czecho-Slovak nationality
ipso facto and lose their German nationality.
ARTICLE 85.
Within a period of two years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, German nationals over eighteen years of age habitually resident in any
of the territories recognized as forming part of the Czecho-Slovak State will be
entitled to opt for German. nationality. Czecho-Slovaks who are German nationals
and are habitually resident in Germany will have a similar right to opt for
Czecho-Slovak nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife and option by parents will cover
their children under eighteen years of age.
Persons who have exercised the above right to opt must within the succeeding
twelve months transfer their place of residence to the State for which they have
opted.
They will be entitled to retain their landed property in the territory of the
other State where they had their place of residence before exercising the right
to opt. They may carry with them their movable property of every description. No
export or import duties may be imposed upon them in connection with the removal
of such property.
Within the same period Czecho-Slovaks, who are German nationals and are in a
foreign country will be entitled, in the absence of any provisions to the
contrary in the foreign law, and if they have not acquired the foreign
nationality, to obtain Czecho-Slovak nationality and lose their German
nationality by complying with the requirements laid down by the Czecho-Slovak
State.
ARTICLE 86.
The Czecho-Slovak State accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers such provisions as may be deemed
necessary by the said Powers to protect the interests of inhabitants of that
State who differ from the majority of the population in race, language, or
religion.
The Czecho-Slovak State further accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with
the said Powers such provisions as they may deem necessary to protect freedom of
transit and equitable treatment of the commerce of other nations.
The proportion and nature of the financial obligations of Germany and Prussia
which the Czecho-Slovak State will have to assume on account of the Silesian
territory placed under its sovereignty will be determined in accordance with
Article 254 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
Subsequent agreements will decide all questions not decided by the present
Treaty which may arise in consequence of the cession of the said territory.
SECTION VIII.
POLAND.
ARTICLE 87.
Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by the Allied and
Associated Powers, recognises the complete independence of Poland, and renounces
in her favour all rights and title over the territory bounded by the Baltic Sea,
the eastern frontier of Germany as laid down in Article 27 of Part II
(Boundaries of Germany) of the present Treaty up to a point situated about 2
kilometres to the east of Lorzendorf, then a line to the acute angle which the
northern boundary of Upper Silesia makes about 3 kilometres north-west of
Simmenau, then the boundary of Upper Silesia to its meeting point with the old
frontier between Germany and Russia, then this frontier to the point where it
crosses the course of the Niemen, and then the northern frontier of East Prussia
as laid down in Article 28 of Part II aforesaid.
The provisions of this Article do not, however, apply to the territories of
East Prussia and the Free City of Danzig, as defined in Article 28 of Part II
(Boundaries of Germany) and in Article 100 of Section XI (Danzig) of this Part.
The boundaries of Poland not laid down in the present Treaty will be
subsequently determined by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
A Commission consisting of seven members, five of whom shall be nominated by
the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, one by Germany and one by Poland,
shall be constituted fifteen days after the coming into force of the present
Treaty to delimit on the spot the frontier line between Poland and Germany. The
decisions of the Commission will be taken by a majority of votes and shall be
binding upon the parties concerned.
ARTICLE 88.
In the portion of Upper Silesia included within the boundaries described
below, the inhabitants will be called upon to indicate by a vote whether they
wish to be attached to Germany or to Poland: starting from the northern point of
the salient of the old province of Austrian Silesia situated about 8 kilometres
east of Neustadt, the former frontier between Germany and Austria to its
junction with the boundary between the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor; thence
in a northerly direction to a point about 2 kilometres south-east of Katscher:
the boundary between the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor; thence in a
south-easterly direction to a point on the course of the Oder immediately south
of the Ratibor- Oderberg railway: a line to be fixed on the ground passing south
of Kranowitz; thence the old boundary between Germany and Austria, then the old
boundary between Germany and Russia to its junction with the administrative
boundary between Posnania and Upper Silesia; thence this administrative boundary
to its junction with the administrative boundary between Upper and Middle
Silesia, thence westwards to the point where the administrative boundary turns
in an acute angle to the south-east about 3 kilometres north- west of Simmenau:
the boundary between Upper and Middle Silesia; then in a westerly direction to a
point to be fixed on the ground about 2 kilometres east of Lorzendorf: a line to
be fixed on the ground passing north of Klein Hennersdorf: thence southwards to
the point where the boundary between Upper and Middle Silesia cuts the
Stadtel-Karlsruhe road: a line to be fixed on the ground passing west of
Hennersdorf, Polkowitz, Noldau, Steinersdorf, and Dammer, and east of Strehlitz,
Nassadel, Eckersdorf, Schwirz, and Stadtel; thence the boundary between Upper
and Middle Silesia to its junction with the eastern boundary of the Kreis of
Falkenberg; then the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Falkenberg to the point of
the salient which is 3 kilometres east of Puschine; thence to the northern point
of the salient of the old province of Austrian Silesia situated about 8
kilometres east of Neustadt: a line to be fixed on the ground passing east of
Zulz.
The regime under which this plebiscite will be taken and given effect to is
laid down in the Annex hereto.
The Polish and German Governments hereby respectively bind themselves to
conduct no prosecutions on any part of their territory and to take no
exceptional proceedings for any political action performed in Upper Silesia
during the period of the regime laid down in the Annex hereto and up to the
settlement of the final status of the country.
Germany hereby renounces in favour of Poland all rights and title over the
portion of Upper Silesia lying beyond the frontier line fixed by the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers as the result of the plebiscite.
ANNEX.
Within fifteen days from the coming into force of the present Treaty the
German troops and such officials as may be designated by the Commission set up
under the provisions of paragraph 2 shall evacuate the plebiscite area. Up to
the moment of the completion of the evacuation they shall refrain from any form
of requisitioning in money or in kind and from all acts likely to prejudice the
material interests of the country.
Within the same period the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils which have been
constituted in this area shall be dissolved. Members of such Councils who are
natives of another region and are exercising their functions at the date of the
coming into force of the present Treaty, or who have gone out of office since
March 1, 1919, shall be evacuated.
All military and semi-military unions formed in the said area by inhabitants
of the district shall be immediately disbanded All members of such military
organisations who are not domiciled in the said area shall be required to leave
it.
The plebiscite area shall be immediately placed under the authority of an
International Commission of four members to be designated by the following
Powers: the United States of America, France, the British Empire, and Italy. It
shall be occupied by troops belonging to the Allied and Associated Powers, and
the German Government undertakes to give facilities for the transference of
these troops to Upper Silesia.
3.
The Commission shall enjoy all the powers exercised by the German or the
Prussian Government, except those of legislation or taxation. It shall also be
substituted for the Government of the province and the Regierungsbezirk.
It shall be within the competence of the Commission to interpret the powers
hereby conferred upon it and to determine to what extent it shall exercise them,
and to what extent they shall be left in the hands of the existing authorities.
Changes in the existing laws and the existing taxation shall only be brought
into force with the consent of the Commission.
The Commission will maintain order with the help of the troops which will be
at its disposal, and, to the extent which it may deem necessary, by means of
gendarmerie recruited among the inhabitants of the country.
The Commission shall provide immediately for the replacement of the evacuated
German officials and, if occasion arises, shall itself order the evacuation of
such authorities and proceed to the replacement of such local authorities as may
be required.
It shall take all steps which it thinks proper to ensure the freedom,
fairness, and secrecy of the vote. In particular, it shall have the right to
order the expulsion of any person who may in any way have attempted to distort
the result of the plebiscite by methods of corruption or intimidation.
The Commission shall have full power to settle all questions arising from the
execution of the present clauses. It shall be assisted by technical advisers
chosen by it from among the local population.
The decisions of the Commission shall be taken by a majority vote.
4.
The vote shall take place at such date as may be determined by the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers, but not sooner than six months or later than
eighteen months after the establishment of the Commission in the area.
The right to vote shall be given to all persons without distinction of sex
who:
(a) Have completed their twentieth year on the 1st January of the year in
which the plebiscite takes place-
(b) Were born in the plebiscite area or have been domiciled there since a
date to be determined by the Commission, which shall not be subsequent to
January 1, 1919, or who have been expelled by the German authorities and have
not retained their domicile there.
Persons convicted of political offences shall be enabled to exercise their
right of voting.
Every person will vote in the commune where he is domiciled or in which he
was born, if he has not retained his domicile in the area.
The result of the vote will be determined by communes according to the
majority of votes in each commune.
5.
On the conclusion of the voting, the number of votes cast in each commune
will be communicated by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers, with a full report as to the taking of the vote and a recommendation as
to the line which ought to be adopted as the frontier of Germany in Upper
Silesia. In this recommendation regard will be paid to the wishes of the
inhabitants as shown by the vote, and to the geographical and economic
conditions of the locality.
6.
As soon as the frontier has been fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers, the German authorities will be notified by the International Commission
that they are free to take over the administration of the territory which it is
recognised should be German, the said authorities must proceed to do so within
one month of such notification and in the manner prescribed by the Commission.
Within the same period and in the manner prescribed by the commission, the
Polish Government must proceed to take over the administration of the territory
which it is recognized should be Polish.
When the administration of the territory has been provided for by the German
and Polish authorities respectively, the powers of the Commission will
terminate.
The cost of the army of occupation and expenditure by the Commission, whether
in discharge of its own functions or in the administration of the territory,
will be a charge on the area.
ARTICLE 89.
Poland undertakes to accord freedom of transit to persons, goods, vessels,
carriages, wagons, and mails in transit between East Prussia and the rest of
Germany over Polish territory, including territorial waters, and to treat them
at least as favourably as the persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and
mails respectively of Polish or of any other more favoured nationality, origin
importation, starting point, or ownerships as regards facilities, restrictions
and all other matters.
Goods in transit shall be exempt from all customs or other similar duties.
Freedom of transit will extend to telegraphic and telephonic services under
the conditions laid down by the conventions referred to in Article 98.
ARTICLE 90.
Poland undertakes to permit for a period of fifteen years the exportation to
Germany of the products of the mines in any part of Upper Silesia transferred to
Poland in accordance with the present Treaty.
Such products shall be free from all export duties or other charges or
restrictions on exportation.
Poland agrees to take such steps as may be necessary to secure that any such
products shall be available for sale to purchasers in Germany on terms as
favourable as are applicable to like products sold under similar conditions to
purchasers in Poland or in any other country.
ARTICLE 91.
German nationals habitually resident in territories recognised as forming
part of Poland will acquire Polish nationality ipso facto and will lose their
German nationality. German nationals, however, or their descendants who became
resident in these territories after January 1, 1908, will not acquire Polish
nationality without a special authorisation from the Polish State.
Within a period of two years after the coming into force of the present
Treaty, German nationals over 18 years of age habitually resident in any of the
territories recognised as forming part of Poland will be entitled to opt for
German nationality.
Poles who are German nationals over 18 years of age and habitually resident
in Germany will have a similar right to opt for Polish nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife and option by parents will cover
their children under 18 years of age.
Persons who have exercised the above right to opt may within the succeeding
twelve months transfer their place of residence to the State for which they have
opted.
They will be entitled to retain their immovable property in the territory of
the other State where they had their place of residence before exercising the
right to opt.
They may carry with them their movable property of every description. No
export or import duties or charges may be imposed upon them in connection with
the removal of such property.
Within the same period Poles who are German nationals and are in a foreign
country will be entitled, in the absence of any provisions to the contrary in
the foreign law, and if they have not acquired the foreign nationality, to
obtain Polish nationality and to lose their German nationality by complying with
the requirements laid down by the Polish State.
In the portion of Upper Silesia submitted to a plebiscite the provisions of
this Article shall only come into force as from the definitive attribution of
the territory.
ARTICLE 92.
The proportion and the nature of the financial liabilities of Germany and
Prussia which are to be borne by Poland will be determined in accordance with
Article 254 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
There shall be excluded from the share of such financial liabilities assumed
by Poland that portion of the debt which, according to the finding of the
Reparation Commission referred to in the above-mentioned Article, arises from
measures adopted by the German and Prussian Governments with a view to German
colonisation in Poland.
In fixing under Article 256 of the present Treaty the value of the property
and possessions belonging to the German Empire and to the German States which
pass to Poland with the territory transferred above, the Reparation Commission
shall exclude from the valuation buildings, forests, and other State property
which belonged to the former Kingdom of Poland; Poland shall acquire these
properties free of all costs and charges.
In all the German territory transferred in accordance with the present Treaty
and recognised as forming definitively part of Poland, the property, rights, and
interests of German nationals shall not be liquidated under Article 297 by the
Polish Government except in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) The proceeds of the liquidation shall be paid direct to the owner;
(2) If on his application the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal provided for by Section
VI of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, or an arbitrator
appointed by that Tribunal, is satisfied that the conditions of the sale or
measures taken by the Polish Government outside its general legislation were
unfairly prejudicial to the price obtained, they shall have discretion to award
to the owner equitable compensation to be paid by the Polish Government.
Further agreements will regulate all questions arising out of the cession of
the above territory which are not regulated by the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 93.
Poland accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers such provisions as may be deemed necessary by the said Powers
to protect the interests of inhabitants of Poland who differ from the majority
of the population in race, language, or religion.
Poland further accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the said Powers
such provisions as they may deem necessary to protect freedom of transit and
equitable treatment of the commerce of other nations.
SECTION IX.
EAST PRUSSIA.
ARTICLE 94.
In the area between the southern frontier of East Prussia, as described in
Article 28 of Part II (Boundaries of Germany) of the present Treaty, and the
line described below, the inhabitants will be called upon to indicate by a vote
the State to which they wish to belong:
The western and northern boundary of Regierungsbezirk Allenstein to its
junction with the boundary between the Kreise of Oletsko and Angerburg; thence,
the northern boundary of the Kreis of Oletsko to its junction with the old
frontier of East Prussia.
ARTICLE 95.
The German troops and authorities will be withdrawn from the area defined
above within a period not exceeding fifteen days after the coming into force of
the present treaty. Until the evacuation is completed they will abstain from all
requisitions in money or in kind and from all measures injurious to the economic
interests of the country.
On the expiration of the above-mentioned period the said area will be placed
under the authority of an International Commission of five members appointed by
the Principal Allied and Associated Powers. This Commission will have general
powers of administration and, in particular, will be charged with the duty of
arranging for the vote and of taking such measures as it may deem necessary to
ensure its freedom, fairness, and secrecy. The Commission will have all
necessary authority to decide any questions to which the execution of these
provisions may give rise. The Commission will make such arrangements as may be
necessary for assistance in the exercise of its functions by officials chosen by
itself from the local population. Its decisions will be taken by a majority.
Every person, irrespective of sex, will be entitled to vote who:
(a) Is 20 years of age at the date of the coming into force of the present
Treaty, and
(b) Was born within the area where the vote will take place or has been
habitually resident there from a date to be fixed by the Commission.
Every person will vote in the commune where he is habitually resident or, if
not habitually resident in the area, in the commune where he was born.
The result of the vote will be determined by communes (Gemeinde) according to
the majority of the votes in each commune.
On the conclusion of the voting the number of votes cast in each commune will
be communicated by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated Powers,
with a full report as the taking of the vote and a recommendation as to the line
which ought to be adopted as the boundary of East Prussia in this region . In
this recommendation regard will be paid to the wishes of the inhabitants as
shown by the vote and to the geographical and economic conditions of the
locality. The Principal Allied and Associated Powers will then fix the frontier
between East Prussia and Poland in this region.
If the line fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers is such as to
exclude from East Prussia any part of the territory defined in Article 94, the
renunciation of its rights by Germany in favour of Poland, as provided in
Article 87 above, will extend to the territories so excluded.
As soon as the line has been fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers, the authorities administering East Prussia will be notified by the
International Commission that they are free to take over the administration of
the territory to the north of the line so fixed, which they shall proceed to do
within one month of such notification and in the manner prescribed by the
Commission. Within the same period and as prescribed by the Commission, the
Polish Government must proceed to take over the administration of the territory
to the south of the line. The administration of the territory by the East
Prussian and Polish authorities respectively has been provided for, the powers
of the Commission will terminate.
Expenditure by the Commission, whether in the discharge of its own functions
or in the administration of the territory, will be borne by the local revenues
East Prussia will be required to bear such proportion of any deficit as may be
fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
ARTICLE 96.
In the area comprising the Kreise of Stuhm and Rosenberg and the portion of
the Kreis of Marienburg which is situated east of the Nogat and that of
Marienwerder east of the Vistula, the inhabitants will be called upon to
indicate by a vote, to be taken in each commune (Gemeinde), whether they desire
the various communes situated in this territory to belong to Poland or to East
Prussia.
ARTICLE 97.
The German troops and authorities will be withdrawn from the area defined in
Article 96 within a period not exceeding fifteen days after the coming into
force of the present Treaty. Until the evacuation is completed they will abstain
from all requisitions in money or in kind and from all measures injurious to the
economic interests of the country.
On the expiration of the above-mentioned period, the said area will be placed
under the authority of an International Commission of five members appointed by
the Principal Allied and Associated Powers. This Commission, supported if
occasion arises by the necessary forces, will have general powers of
administration and in particular will be charged with the duty of arranging for
the vote and of taking such measures as it may deem necessary to ensure its
freedom, fairness, and secrecy. The Commission will conform as far as possible
to the provisions of the present Treaty relating to the plebiscite in the
Allenstein area; its decisions will be taken by a majority.
Expenditure by the Commission, whether in the discharge of its own functions
or in the administration of the territory, will be borne by the local revenues.
On the conclusion of the voting the number of votes cast in each commune will
be communicated by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated Powers
with a full report as to the taking of the vote and a recommendation as to the
line which ought to be adopted as the boundary of East Prussia in this region.
In this recommendation regard will be paid to the wishes of the inhabitants as
shown by the vote and to the geographical and economic conditions of the
locality. The Principal Allied and Associated Powers will then fix the frontier
between East Prussia and Poland in this region, leaving in any case to Poland
for the whole of the section bordering on the Vistula full and complete control
of the river including the east bank as far east of the river as may be
necessary for its regulation and improvement, Germany agrees that in any portion
of the said territory which remains German, no fortifications shall at any time
be erected. The Principal Allied and Associated Powers will at the same time
draw up regulations for assuring to the population of East Prussia to the
fullest extent and under equitable conditions access to the Vistula and the use
of it for themselves, their commerce, and their boats.
The determination of the frontier and the foregoing regulations shall be
binding upon all the parties concerned.
When the administration of the territory has been taken over by the East
Prussian and Polish authorities respectively, the powers of the Commission will
terminate.
ARTICLE 98.
Germany and Poland undertake, within one year of the coming into force of
this Treaty, to enter into conventions of which the terms, in case of
difference, shall be settled by the Council of the League of Nations, with the
object of securing, on the one hand, to Germany full and adequate railroad,
telegraphic and telephonic facilities for communication between the rest of
Germany and East Prussia over the intervening Polish territory, and on the other
hand to Poland full and adequate railroad, telegraphic and telephonic facilities
for communication between Poland and the Free City of Danzig over any German
territory that may, on the right bank of the Vistula, intervene between Poland
and the Free City of Danzig.
SECTION X.
MEMEL.
ARTICLE 99.
Germany renounces in favour of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all
rights and title over the territories included between the Baltic, the
north-eastern frontier of East Prussia as defined in Article 28 of Part II
(Boundaries of Germany) of the present Treaty and the former frontier between
Germany and Russia. Germany undertakes to accept the settlement made by the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers in regard to these territories,
particularly in so far as concerns the nationality of the inhabitants.
SECTION XI.
FREE CITY OF DANZIG.
ARTICLE 100.
Germany renounces in favour of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all
rights and title over the territory comprised within the following limits:
from the Baltic Sea southwards to the point where the principal channels of
navigation of the Nogat and the Vistula (Weichsel) meet:
the boundary of East Prussia as described in Article 28 of Part II
(Boundaries of Germany) of the present Treaty;
thence the principal channel of navigation of the Vistula downstream to a
point about 6-1/2 kilometres north of the bridge of Dirschau;
thence north-west to point 5-1/2 kilometres south-east of the church of
Guttland:
a line to be fixed on the ground,
thence in a general westerly direction to the salient made by the boundary of
the Kreis of Berent 8-1/2 kilometres north-east of Schoneck:
a line to be fixed on the ground passing between Muhlbanz on the south and
Rambeltsch on the north;
thence the boundary of the Kreis of Berent westwards to the re- entrant which
it forms 6 kilometres north-north-west Schoneck; thence to a point on the median
line of Lonkener See:
a line to be fixed on the ground passing north of Neu Fietz and Schatarpi and
south of Barenhutte and Lonken;
thence the median line of Lonkener See to its northernmost point;
thence to the southern end of Pollenziner See:
a line to be fixed on the ground;
thence the median line of Pollenziner See to its northernmost point;
thence in a north-easterly direction to a point about 1 kilometre south of
Koliebken church, where the Danzig-Neustadt railway crosses a stream:
a line to be fixed on the ground passing south-east of Kamehlen, Krissau,
Fidlin, Sulmin (Richthof), Mattern, Schaferei, and to the north-west of
Neuendorf, Marschau, Czapielken, Hoch- and Klein- Kelpin, Pulvermuhl, Renneberg,
and the towns of Oliva and Zoppot;
thence the course of the stream mentioned above to the Baltic Sea. The
boundaries described above are drawn on a German map, scale 1/100,000, attached
to the present Treaty (Map No. 3).
ARTICLE 101.
A Commission composed of three members appointed by the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers, including a High Commissioner as President, one member
appointed by Germany and one member appointed by Poland, shall be constituted
within fifteen days of the coming into force of the present Treaty for the
purpose of delimiting on the spot the frontier of the territory as described
above, taking into account as far as possible the existing communal boundaries.
ARTICLE 102.
The Principal Allied and Associated Powers undertake to establish the town of
Danzig, together with the rest of the territory described in Article 100, as a
Free City. It will be placed under the protection of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE 103.
A constitution for the Free City of Danzig shall be drawn up by the duly
appointed representatives of the Free City in agreement with a High Commissioner
to be appointed by the League of Nations. This constitution shall be placed
under the guarantee of the League of Nations.
The High Commissioner will also be entrusted with the duty of dealing in the
first instance with all differences arising between Poland and the Free City of
Danzig in regard to this Treaty or any arrangements or agreements made
thereunder.
The High Commissioner shall reside at Danzig.
ARTICLE 104.
The Principal Allied and Associated Powers undertake to negotiate a Treaty
between the Polish Government and the Free City of Danzig, which shall come into
force at the same time as the establishment of the said Free City, with the
following objects:
(1) To effect the inclusion of the Free City of Danzig within the Polish
Customs frontiers, and to establish a free area in the port;
(2) To ensure to Poland without any restriction the free use and service of
all waterways, docks, basins, wharves and other works within the territory of
the Free City necessary for Polish imports and exports;
(3) To ensure to Poland the control and administration of the Vistula and of
the whole railway system within the Free City, except such street and other
railways as serve primarily the needs of the Free City, and of postal,
telegraphic and telephonic communication between Poland and the port of Danzig;
(4) To ensure to Poland the right to develop and improve the waterways,
docks, basins, wharves, railways and other works and means of communication
mentioned in this Article, as well as to lease or purchase through appropriate
processes such land and other property as may be necessary for these purposes,
(5) To provide against any discrimination within the Free City of Danzig to
the detriment of citizens of Poland and other persons of Polish origin or
speech;
(6) To provide that the Polish Government shall undertake the conduct of the
foreign relations of the Free City of Danzig as well as the diplomatic
protection of citizens of that city when abroad.
ARTICLE 105.
On the coming into force of the present Treaty German nationals ordinarily
resident in the territory described in Article 100 will ipso facto lose their
German nationality in order to become nationals of the Free City of Danzig.
ARTICLE 106.
Within a period of two years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, German nationals over 18 years of age ordinarily resident in the
territory described in Article 100 will have the right to opt for German
nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife and option by parents will cover
their children less than 18 years of age.
All persons who exercise the right of option referred to above must during
the ensuing twelve months transfer their place of residence to Germany.
These persons will be entitled to preserve the immovable property possessed
by them in the territory of the Free City of Danzig. They may carry with them
their movable property of every description. No export or import duties shall be
imposed upon upon them in this connection.
ARTICLE 107.
All property situated within the territory of the Free City of Danzig
belonging to the German Empire or to any German State shall pass to the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers for transfer to the Free City of Danzig
or to the Polish State as they may consider equitable.
ARTICLE 108.
The proportion and nature of the financial liabilities of Germany and of
Prussia to be borne by the Free City of Danzig shall be fixed in accordance with
Article 254 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
All other questions which may arise from the cession of the territory
referred to in Article 100 shall be settled by further agreements.
SECTION XII.
SCHLESWIG.
ARTICLE 109.
The frontier between Germany and Denmark shall be fixed in conformity with
the wishes of the population.
For this purpose, the population inhabiting the territories of the former
German Empire situated to the north of a line, from East to West, (shown by a
brown line on the map No. 4, annexed to the present Treaty):
leaving the Baltic Sea about 13 kilometres east-north-east of Flensburg,
running south-west so as to pass south-east of: Sygum, Ringsberg, Munkbrarup,
Adelby, Tastrup, Jarplund, Oversee, and northwest of: Langballigholz,
Langballig, Bonstrup, Rullschau, Weseby, Kleinwolstrup, Gross-Solt,
thence westwards passing south of Frorup and north of Wanderup,
thence in a south-westerly direction passing south-east of Oxlund, Stieglund
and Ostenau and north-west of the villages on the Wanderup-Kollund road,
thence in a north-westerly direction passing south-west of Lowenstedt,
Joldelund, Goldelund, and north-east of Kolkerheide and Hogel to the bend of the
Soholmer Au, about 1 kilometre east of Soholm, where it meets the southern
boundary of the Kreis of Tondern, following this boundary to the North
Sea,passing south of the islands of Fohr and Amrum and north of the islands of
Oland and Langeness, shall be called upon to pronounce by a vote which will be
taken under the following conditions:
(1) Within a period not exceeding ten days from the coming into force of the
present Treaty, the German troops and authorities (including the
Oberprasidenten, Regierungs-prasidenten, Landrathe, Amtsvorsteher,
Oberburgermeister) shall evacuate the zone lying to the north of the line above
fixed.
Within the same period the Workmen's and Soldiers', Councils which have been
constituted in this zone shall be dissolved; members of such councils who are
natives of another region and are exercising their functions at the date of the
coming into force of the present Treaty, or who have gone out of office since
March 1, 1919, shall also be evacuated.
The said zone shall immediately be placed under the authority of an
International Commission, composed of five members, of whom three will be
designated by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers; the Norwegian and
Swedish Governments will each be requested to designate a member; in the event
of their failing to do so, these two members will be chosen by the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers.
The Commission, assisted in case of need by the necessary forces, shall have
general powers of administration. In particular, it shall at once provide for
filling the places of the evacuated German authorities, and if necessary shall
itself give orders for their evacuation, and proceed to fill the places of such
local authorities as may be required. It shall take all steps which it thinks
proper to ensure the freedom, fairness, and secrecy of the vote. It shall be
assisted by German and Danish technical advisers chosen by it from among the
local population. Its decisions will be taken by a majority.
One-half of the expenses of the Commission and of the expenditure occasioned
by the plebiscite shall be paid by Germany.
(2) The right to vote shall be given to all persons, without distinction of
sex, who:
(a) Have completed their twentieth year at the date of the coming into force
of the present Treaty; and
(b) Were born in the zone in which the plebiscite is taken, or have been
domiciled there since a date before January 1, 1900, or had been expelled by the
German authorities without having retained their domicile there.
Every person will vote in the commune (Gemeinde) where he is domiciled or of
which he is a native.
Military persons, officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the
German army, who are natives of the zone of Schleswig in which the plebiscite is
taken, shall be given the opportunity to return to their native place in order
to take part in the voting there.
(3) In the section of the evacuated zone lying to the north of a line, from
East to West (shown by a red line on map No. 4 which is annexed to the present
Treaty). [See Introduction]:
passing south of the island of Alsen and following the median line of
Flensburg Fjord,
leaving the fjord about 6 kilometres north of Flensburg and following the
course of the stream flowing past Kupfermuhle upstream to a point north of
Niehuus,
passing north of Pattburg and Ellund and south of Froslee to meet the eastern
boundary of the Kreis of Tondern at its junction with the boundary between the
old jurisdiction of Slogs and Kjaer (Slogs, Herred, and Kaer Herred),
following the latter boundary to where it meets the Scheidebek, following the
course of the Scheidebek (AIte Au), Suder Au, and Wied Au downstream
successively to the point where the latter bends northwards about 1,500 metres
west of Ruttebull
thence, in a west-north-westerly direction to meet the North Sea north of
SieItoft,
thence, passing north of the island of Sylt,
the vote above provided for shall be taken within a period not exceeding
three weeks after the evacuation of the country by the German troops and
authorities.
The result will be determined by the majority of votes cast in the whole of
this section. This result will be immediately communicated by the Commission to
the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and proclaimed.
If the vote results in favour of the reincorporation of this territory in the
Kingdom of Denmark, the Danish Government in agreement with the Commission will
be entitled to effect its occupation with their military and administrative
authorities immediately after the proclamation.
(4) In the section of the evacuated zone situated to the south of the
preceding section and to the north of the line which starts from the Baltic Sea
13 kilometres from Flensburg and ends north of the islands of Oland and
Langeness, the vote will be taken within a period not exceeding five weeks after
the plebiscite shall have been held in the first section.
The result will be determined by communes (Gemeinden), in accordance with the
majority of the votes cast in each commune (Gemeinde).
ARTICLE 110.
Pending a delimitation on the spot, a frontier line will be fixed by the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers according to a line based on the result
of the voting, and proposed by the International Commission, and taking into
account the particular geographical and economic conditions of the localities in
question.
From that time the Danish Government may effect the occupation of these
territories with the Danish civil and military authorities, and the German
Government may reinstate up to the said frontier line the German civil and
military authorities whom it has evacuated.
Germany hereby renounces definitely in favour of the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers all rights of sovereignty over the territories situated to the
north of the frontier line fixed in accordance with the above provisions. The
Principal Allied and Associated Powers will hand over the said territories to
Denmark.
ARTICLE 111.
A Commission composed of seven members, five of whom shall be nominated by
the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, one by Denmark, and one by Germany,
shall be constituted within fifteen days from the date when the final result of
the vote is known, to trace the frontier line on the spot.
The decisions of the Commission will be taken by a majority of votes and
shall be binding on the parties concerned.
ARTICLE 112.
All the inhabitants of the territory which is returned to Denmark will
acquire Danish nationality ipso facto, and will lose their German nationality.
Persons, however, who had become habitually resident in this territory after
October 1, 1918, will not be able to acquire Danish nationality without
permission from the Danish Government.
ARTICLE 113.
Within two years from the date on which the sovereignty over the whole or
part of the territory of Schleswig subjected to the plebiscite is restored to
Denmark:
Any person over 18 years of age, born in the territory restored to Denmark
not habitually resident in this region, and possessing German nationality, will
be entitled to opt for Denmark;
Any person over 18 years of age habitually resident in the territory restored
to Denmark will be entitled to opt for Germany.
Option by a husband will cover his wife and option by parents will cover
their children less than 18 years of age.
Persons who have exercised the above right to opt must within the ensuing
twelve months transfer their place of residence to the State in favour of which
they have opted.
They will be entitled to retain the immovable property which they own in the
territory of the other State in which they were habitually resident before
opting. They may carry with them their movable property of every description. No
export or import duties may be imposed upon them in connection with the removal
of such property.
ARTICLE 114.
The proportion and nature of the financial or other obligations of Germany
and Prussia which are to be assumed by Denmark will be fixed in accordance with
Article 254 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
Further stipulations will determine any other questions arising out of the
transfer to Denmark of the whole or part of the territory of which she was
deprived by the Treaty of October 30, 1864.
SECTION XIII.
HELIGOLAND.
ARTICLE 115.
The fortifications, military establishments, and harbours, of the Islands of
Heligoland and Dune shall be destroyed under the supervision of the Principal
Allied Governments by German labour and at the expense of Germany within a
period to be determined by the said Governments.
The term "harbours,, shall include the north-east mole, the west wall, the
outer and inner breakwaters, and reclaimed land within them, and all naval and
military works, fortifications, and buildings, constructed or under
construction, between lines connecting the following positions taken from the
British Admiralty chart No. 126 of April 19, 1918:
(a) lat. 54° 10' 49" N.; long. 7° 53' 39" E.;
(b) 54° 10' 35" N.;
7° 54' 18" E.;
(c) 54° 10' 14" N.; 7° 54' 00" E.;
(d)
54° 10' 17" N.; 7° 53' 37" E.;
(e) 54° 10' 44" N.; 7°
53' 26" E.
These fortifications, military establishments, and harbours shall not be
reconstructed nor shall any similar works be constructed in future.
SECTION XIV.
RUSSIA AND RUSSIAN STATES.
ARTICLE 116.
Germany acknowledges and agrees to respect as permanent and inalienable the
independence of all the territories which were part of the former Russian Empire
on August 1, 1914.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 259 of Part IX (Financial
Clauses) and Article 292 of Part X (Economic Clauses) Germany accepts definitely
the abrogation of the Brest-Litovsk Treaties and of all other treaties,
conventions, and agreements entered into by her with the Maximalist Government
in Russia.
The Allied and Associated Powers formally reserve the rights of Russia to
obtain from Germany restitution and reparation based on the principles of the
present Treaty.
ARTICLE 117.
Germany undertakes to recognise the full force of all treaties or agreements
which may be entered into by the Allied and Associated Powers with States now
existing or coming into existence in future in the whole or part of the former
Empire of Russia as it existed on August 1, 1914, and to recognise the frontiers
of any such States as determined therein.
PART IV
GERMAN RIGHTS AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE GERMANY.
ARTICLE 118.
In territory outside her European frontiers as fixed by the present Treaty,
Germany renounces all rights, titles and privileges whatever in or over
territory which belonged to her or to her allies, and all rights, titles and
privileges whatever their origin which she held as against the Allied and
Associated Powers.
Germany hereby undertakes to recognise and to conform to the measures which
may be taken now or in the future by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers,
in agreement where necessary with third Powers, in order to carry the above
stipulation into effect.
In particular Germany declares her acceptance of the following Articles
relating to certain special subjects.
SECTION I.
GERMAN COLONIES.
ARTICLE 119.
Germany renounces in favour of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all
her rights and titles over her oversea possessions.
ARTICLE 120.
All movable and immovable property in such territories belonging to the
German Empire or to any German State shall pass to the Government exercising
authority over such territories, on the terms laid down in Article 257 of Part
IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty. The decision of the local courts
in any dispute as to the nature of such property shall be final.
ARTICLE 121.
The provisions of Sections I and IV of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the
present Treaty shall apply in the case of these territories whatever be the form
of Government adopted for them.
ARTICLE 122.
The Government exercising authority over such territories may make such
provisions as it thinks fit with reference to the repatriation from them of
German nationals and to the conditions upon which German subjects of European
origin shall, or shall not, be allowed to reside, hold property, trade or
exercise a profession in them.
ARTICLE 123.
The provisions of Article 260 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present
Treaty shall apply in the case of all agreements concluded with German nationals
for the construction or exploitation of public works in the German oversea
possessions, as well as any sub- concessions or contracts resulting therefrom
which may have been made to or with such nationals.
ARTICLE 124.
Germany hereby undertakes to pay, in accordance with the estimate to be
presented by the French Government and approved by the Reparation Commission,
reparation for damage suffered by French nationals in the Cameroons or the
frontier zone by reason of the acts of the German civil and military authorities
and of German private individuals during the period from January 1, 1900, to
August 1, 1914.
ARTICLE 125.
Germany renounces all rights under the Conventions and Agreements with France
of November 4, 1911, and September 28, 1912, relating to Equatorial Africa. She
undertakes to pay to the French Government, in accordance with the estimate to
be presented by that Government and approved by the Reparation Commission, all
the deposits, credits, advances, etc., effected by virtue of these instruments
in favour of Germany.
ARTICLE 126.
Germany undertakes to accept and observe the agreements made or to be made by
the Allied and Associated Powers or some of them with any other Power with
regard to the trade in arms and spirits, and to the matters dealt with in the
General Act of Berlin of February 26, 1885, the General Act of Brussels of July
2, 1890, and the conventions completing or modifying the same.
ARTICLE 127.
The native inhabitants of the former German oversea possessions shall be
entitled to the diplomatic protection of the Governments exercising authority
over those territories.
SECTION II.
CHINA.
ARTICLE 128.
Germany renounces in favour of China all benefits and privileges resulting
from the provisions of the final Protocol signed at Peking on September 7, 1901,
and from all annexes, notes and documents supplementary thereto. She likewise
renounces in favour of China any claim to indemnities accruing thereunder
subsequent to March 14, 1917.
ARTICLE 129.
From the coming into force of the present Treaty the High Contracting Parties
shall apply, in so far as concerns them respectively:
(1) The Arrangement of August 29, 1902, regarding the new Chinese customs
tariff;
(2) The Arrangement of September 27, 1905, regarding Whang-Poo, and the
provisional supplementary Arrangement of April 4, 1912.
China, however, will no longer be bound to grant to Germany the advantages or
privileges which she allowed Germany under these Arrangements.
ARTICLE 130.
Subject to the provisions of Section VIII of this Part, Germany cedes to
China all the buildings, wharves and pontoons, barracks, forts, arms and
munitions of war, vessels of all kinds, wireless telegraphy installations and
other public property belonging to the German Government, which are situated or
may be in the German Concessions at Tientsin and Hankow or elsewhere in Chinese
territory.
It is understood, however, that premises used as diplomatic or consular
residences or offices are not included in the above cession, and, furthermore,
that no steps shall be taken by the Chinese Government to dispose of the German
public and private property situated within the so-called Legation Quarter at
Peking without the consent of the Diplomatic Representatives of the Powers
which, on the coming into force of the present Treaty, remain Parties to the
Final Protocol of September 7, 1901.
ARTICLE 131.
Germany undertakes to restore to China within twelve months from the coming
into force of the present Treaty all the astronomical instruments which her
troops in 1900-1901 carried away from China, and to defray all expenses which
may be incurred in effecting such restoration, including the expenses of
dismounting, packing, transporting, insurance and installation in Peking.
ARTICLE 132.
Germany agrees to the abrogation of the leases from the Chinese Government
under which the German Concessions at Hankow and Tientsin are now held.
China, restored to the full exercise of her sovereign rights in the above
areas, declares her intention of opening them to international residence and
trade. She further declares that the abrogation of the leases under which these
concessions are now held shall not affect the property rights of nationals of
Allied and Associated Powers who are holders of lots in these concessions.
ARTICLE 133
Germany waives all claims against the Chinese Government or against any
Allied or Associated Government arising out of the internment of German
nationals in China and their repatriation. She equally renounces all claims
arising out of the capture and condemnation of German ships in China, or the
liquidation, sequestration or control of German properties, rights and interests
in that country since August 14, 1917. This provision, however, shall not affect
the rights of the parties interested in the proceeds of any such liquidation,
which shall be governed by the provisions of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the
present Treaty.
ARTICLE 134
Germany renounces in favour of the Government of His Britannic Majesty the
German State property in the British Concession at Shameen at Canton. She
renounces in favour of the French and Chinese Governments conjointly the
property of the German school situated in the French Concession at Shanghai.
SECTION III.
SIAM.
ARTICLE 135.
Germany recognises that all treaties, conventions and agreements between her
and Siam, and all rights, title and privileges derived therefrom, including all
rights of extraterritorial jurisdiction, terminated as from July 22, 1917.
ARTICLE 136.
All goods and property in Siam belonging to the German Empire or to any
German State, with the exception of premises used as diplomatic or consular
residences or offices, pass ipso facto and without compensation to the Siamese
Government.
The goods, property and private rights of German nationals in Siam shall be
dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the
present Treaty.
ARTICLE 137
Germany waives all claims against the Siamese Government on behalf of herself
or her nationals arising out of the seizure or condemnation of German ships, the
liquidation of German property, or the internment of German nationals in Siam.
This provision shall not affect the rights of the parties interested in the
proceeds of any such liquidation, which shall be governed by the provisions of
Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty.
SECTION IV.
LIBERIA.
ARTICLE 138.
Germany renounces all rights and privileges arising from the arrangements of
1911 and 1912 regarding Liberia, and particularly the right to nominate a German
Receiver of Customs in Liberia.
She further renounces all claim to participate in any measures whatsoever
which may be adopted for the rehabilitation of Liberia.
ARTICLE 139.
Germany recognises that all treaties and arrangements between her and Liberia
terminated as from August 4, 1917.
ARTICLE 140
The property, rights and interests of Germans in Liberia shall be dealt with
in accordance with Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty.
SECTION V.
MOROCCO.
ARTICLE 141.
Germany renounces all rights, titles and privileges conferred on her by the
General Act of Algeciras of April 7, 1906, and by the Franco-German Agreements
of February 9, 1909, and November 4, 1911. All treaties, agreements,
arrangements and contracts concluded by her with the Sherifian Empire are
regarded as abrogated as from August 3, 1914
In no case can Germany take advantage of these instruments and she undertakes
not to intervene in any way in negotiations relating to Morocco which may take
place between France and the other Powers.
ARTICLE 142.
Germany having recognised the French Protectorate in Morocco, hereby accepts
all the consequences of its establishment, and she renounces the regime of the
capitulations therein.
This renunciation shall take effect as from August 3, 1914.
ARTICLE 143.
The Sherifian Government shall have complete liberty of action in regulating
the status of German nationals in Morocco and the conditions in which they may
establish themselves there.
German protected persons, semsars and "associes agricoles", shall be
considered as having ceased, as from August 3, 1914, to enjoy the privileges
attached to their status and shall be subject to the ordinary law.
ARTICLE 144.
All property and possessions in the Sherifian Empire of the German Empire and
the German States pass to the Maghzen without payment.
For this purpose, the property and possessions of the German Empire and
States shall be deemed to include all the property of the Crown, the Empire or
the States, and the private property of the former German Emperor and other
Royal personages.
All movable and immovable property in the Sherifian Empire belonging to
German nationals shall be dealt with in accordance with Sections III and IV of
Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty.
Mining rights which may be recognised as belonging to German nationals by the
Court of Arbitration set up under the Moroccan Mining Regulations shall form the
subject of a valuation, which the arbitrators shall be requested to make, and
these rights shall then be treated in the same way as property in Morocco
belonging to German nationals.
ARTICLE 145.
The German Government shall ensure the transfer to a person nominated by the
French Government of the shares representing Germany's portion of the capital of
the State Bank of Morocco. The value of these shares, as assessed by the
Reparation Commission, shall be paid to the Reparation Commission for the credit
of Germany on account of the sums due for reparation. The German Government
shall be responsible for indemnifying its nationals so dispossessed.
This transfer will take place without prejudice to the repayment of debts
which German nationals may have contracted towards the State Bank of Morocco.
ARTICLE 146.
Moroccan goods entering Germany shall enjoy the treatment accorded to French
goods
SECTION VI.
EGYPT.
ARTICLE 147.
Germany declares that she recognises the Protectorate proclaimed over Egypt
by Great Britain on December 18, 1914, and that she renounces the regime of the
Capitulations in Egypt.
This renunciation shall take effect as from August 4, 1914.
ARTICLE 148
All treaties, agreements, arrangements and contracts concluded by Germany
with Egypt are regarded as abrogated as from August 4, 1914.
In no case can Germany avail herself of these instruments and she undertakes
not to intervene in any way in negotiations relating to Egypt which may take
place between Great Britain and the other Powers.
ARTICLE 149.
Until an Egyptian law of judicial organization establishing courts with
universal jurisdiction comes into force, provision shall be made, by means of
decrees issued by His Highness the Sultan, for the exercise of jurisdiction over
German nationals and property by the British Consular Tribunals.
ARTICLE 150
The Egyptian Government shall have complete liberty of action in regulating
the status of German nationals and the conditions under which they may establish
themselves in Egypt.
ARTICLE 151.
Germany consents to the abrogation of the decree issued by His Highness the
Khedive on November 28, 1914, relating to the Commission of the Egyptian Public
Debt, or to such changes as the Egyptian Government may think it desirable to
make therein.
ARTICLE 152.
Germany consents, in so far as she is concerned, to the transfer to His
Britannic Majesty's Government of the powers conferred on His Imperial Majesty
the Sultan by the Convention signed at Constantinople on October 29, 1888,
relating to the free navigation of the Suez Canal.
She renounces all participation in the Sanitary, Maritime, and Quarantine
Board of Egypt and consents, in so far as she is concerned, to the transfer to
the Egyptian Authorities of the powers of that Board.
ARTICLE 153.
All property and possessions in Egypt of the German Empire and the German
States pass to the Egyptian Government without payment.
For this purpose, the property and possessions of the German Empire and
States shall be deemed to include all the property of the Crown, the Empire or
the States, and the private property of the former German Emperor and other
Royal personages.
All movable and immovable property in Egypt belonging to German nationals
shall be dealt with in accordance with Sections III and IV of Part X (Economic
Clauses) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 154.
Egyptian goods entering Germany shall enjoy the treatment accorded to British
goods.
SECTION VII
TURKEY AND BULGARIA.
ARTICLE 155.
Germany undertakes to recognise and accept all arrangements which the Allied
and Associated Powers may make with Turkey and Bulgaria with reference to any
rights, interests and privileges whatever which might be claimed by Germany or
her nationals in Turkey and Bulgaria and which are not dealt with in the
provisions of the present Treaty.
SECTION VIII
SHANTUNG.
ARTICLE 156.
Germany renounces, in favour of Japan, all her rights, title and
privileges¯particularly those concerning the territory of Kiaochow, railways,
mines and submarine cableswhich she acquired in virtue of the Treaty
concluded by her with China on March 6 1898, and of all other arrangements
relative to the Province of Shantung.
All German rights in the Tsingtao-Tsinanfu Railway, including its branch
lines together with its subsidiary property of all kinds, stations, shops, fixed
and rolling stock, mines, plant and material for the exploitation of the mines,
are and remain acquired by Japan, together with all rights and privileges
attaching thereto.
The German State submarine cables from Tsingtao to Shanghai and from Tsingtao
to Chefoo, with all the rights, privileges and properties attaching thereto, are
similarly acquired by Japan, free and clear of all charges and encumbrances.
ARTICLE 157.
The movable and immovable property owned by the German State in the territory
of Kiaochow, as well as all the rights which Germany might claim in consequence
of the works or improvements made or of the expenses incurred by her, directly
or indirectly, in connection with this territory, are and remain acquired by
Japan, free and clear of all charges and encumbrances.
ARTICLE 158.
Germany shall hand over to Japan within three months from the coming into
force of the present Treaty the archives, registers, plans, title-deeds and
documents of every kind, wherever they may be, relating to the administration,
whether civil, military, financial, judicial or other, of the territory of
Kiaochow.
Within the same period Germany shall give particulars to Japan of all
treaties, arrangements or agreements relating to the rights, title or privileges
referred to in the two preceding Articles.
PART V.
MILITARY, NAVAL AND AIR CLAUSES.
In order to render possible the initiation of a general limitation of the
armaments of all nations, Germany undertakes strictly to observe the military,
naval and air clauses which follow.
SECTION I.
MILITARY CLAUSES.
CHAPTER I.
EFFECTIVES AND CADRES OF THE GERMAN ARMY.
ARTICLE 159.
The German military forces shall be demobilised and reduced as prescribed
hereinafter.
ARTICLE 160.
(1) By a date which must not be later than March 31, 1920, the German Army
must not comprise more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of
cavalry.
After that date the total number of effectives in the Army of the States
constituting Germany must not exceed one hundred thousand men, including
officers and establishments of depots. The Army shall be devoted exclusively to
the maintenance of order within the territory and to the control of the
frontiers.
The total effective strength of officers, including the personnel of staffs,
whatever their composition, must not exceed four thousand.
(2) Divisions and Army Corps headquarters staffs shall be organised in
accordance with Table No. 1 annexed to this Section.
The number and strengths of the units of infantry, artillery, engineers,
technical services and troops laid down in the aforesaid Table constitute maxima
which must not be exceeded.
The following units may each have their own depot:
An Infantry regiment; A Cavalry regiment; A regiment of Field Artillery; A
battalion of Pioneers.
(3) The divisions must not be grouped under more than two army corps
headquarters staffs.
The maintenance or formation of forces differently grouped or of other
organisations for the command of troops or for preparation for war is forbidden.
The Great German General Staff and all similar organisations shall be
dissolved and may not be reconstituted in any form.
The officers, or persons in the position of officers, in the Ministries of
War in the different States in Germany and in the Administrations attached to
them, must not exceed three hundred in number and are included in the maximum
strength of four thousand laid down in the third sub-paragraph of paragraph (1)
of this Article.
ARTICLE 161.
Army administrative services consisting of civilian personnel not included in
the number of effectives prescribed by the present Treaty will have such
personnel reduced in each class to one-tenth of that laid down in the Budget of
1913.
ARTICLE 162.
The number of employees or officials of the German States such as customs
officers, forest guards and coastguards, shall not exceed that of the employees
or officials functioning in these capacities in 1913.
The number of gendarmes and employees or officials of the local or municipal
police may only be increased to an extent corresponding to the increase of
population since 1913 in the districts or municipalities in which they are
employed.
These employees and officials may not be assembled for military training.
ARTICLE: 163.
The reduction of the strength of the German military forces as provided for
in Article 160 may be effected gradually in the following manner:
Within three months from the coming into force of the present Treaty the
total number of effectives must be reduced to 200,000 and the number of units
must not exceed twice the number of those laid down in Article 160.
At the expiration of this period, and at the end of each subsequent period of
three months, a Conference of military experts of the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers will fix the reductions to be made in the ensuing three
months, so that by March 31, 1920, at the latest the total number of German
effectives does not exceed the maximum number of l00,000 men laid down in
Article 160. In these successive reductions the same ratio between the number of
officers and of men, and between the various kinds of units, shall be maintained
as is laid down in that Article.
CHAPTER II.
ARMAMENT, MUNITIONS AND MATERIAL.
ARTICLE 164.
Up till the time at which Germany is admitted as a member of the League of
Nations the German Army must not possess an armament greater than the amounts
fixed in Table No. II annexed to this Section, with the exception of an optional
increase not exceeding one-twentyfifth part for small arms and one-fiftieth part
for guns, which shall be exclusively used to provide for such eventual
replacements as may be necessary.
Germany agrees that after she has become a member of the League of Nations
the armaments fixed in the said Table shall remain in force until they are
modified by the Council of the League. Furthermore she hereby agrees strictly to
observe the decisions of the Council of the League on this subject.
ARTICLE 165.
The maximum number of guns, machine guns, trench-mortars, rifles and the
amount of ammunition and equipment which Germany is allowed to maintain during
the period between the coming into force of the present Treaty and the date of
March 31, 1920, referred to in Article 160, shall bear the same proportion to
the amount authorized in Table No. III annexed to this Section as the strength
of the German Army as reduced from time to time in accordance with Article 163
bears to the strength permitted under Article 160.
ARTICLE 166
At the date of March 31, 1920, the stock of munitions which the German Army
may have at its disposal shall not exceed the amounts fixed in Table No. III
annexed to this Section.
Within the same period the German Government will store these stocks at
points to be notified to the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers. The German Government is forbidden to establish any other stocks, depots
or reserves of munitions.
ARTICLE 167.
The number and calibre of the guns constituting at the date of the coming
into force of the present Treaty the armament of the fortified works,
fortresses, and any land or coast forts which Germany is allowed to retain must
be notified immediately by the German Government to the Governments of the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers, and will constitute maximum amounts
which may not be exceeded.
Within two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, the
maximum stock of ammunition for these guns will be reduced to, and maintained
at, the following uniform rates: fifteen hundred rounds per piece for those
the calibre of which is 10.5 cm. and under: five hundred rounds per piece for
those of higher calibre.
ARTICLE 168.
The manufacture of arms, munitions, or any war material, shall only be
carried out in factories or works the location of which shall be communicated to
and approved by the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers,
and the number of which they retain the right to restrict.
Within three months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, all
other establishments for the manufacture, preparation, storage or design of
arms, munitions, or any war material whatever shall be closed down. The same
applies to all arsenals except those used as depots for the authorised stocks of
munitions. Within the same period the personnel of these arsenals will be
dismissed.
ARTICLE 169.
Within two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty German
arms, munitions and war material, including anti-aircraft material, existing in
Germany in excess of the quantities allowed, must be surrendered to the
Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers to be destroyed or
rendered useless. This will also apply to any special plant intended for the
manufacture of military material, except such as may be recognised as necessary
for equipping the authorised strength of the German army.
The surrender in question will be effected at such points in German territory
as may be selected by the said Governments.
Within the same period arms, munitions and war material, including
anti-aircraft material, of origin other than German, in whatever state they may
be, will be delivered to the said Governments, who will decide as to their
disposal.
Arms and munitions which on account of the successive reductions in the
strength of the German army become in excess of the amounts authorised by Tables
II and III annexed to this Section must be handed over in the manner laid down
above within such periods as may be decided by the Conferences referred to in
Article 163.
ARTICLE 170.
Importation into Germany of arms, munitions and war material of every kind
shall be strictly prohibited.
The same applies to the manufacture for, and export to, foreign countries of
arms, munitions and war material of every kind.
ARTICLE 171
The use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases and all analogous liquids,
materials or devices being prohibited, their manufacture and importation are
strictly forbidden in Germany.
The same applies to materials specially intended for the manufacture, storage
and use of the said products or devices.
The manufacture and the importation into Germany of armoured cars, tanks and
all similar constructions suitable for use in war are also prohibited.
ARTICLE 172.
Within a period of three months from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, the German Government will disclose to the Governments of the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers the nature and mode of manufacture of all
explosives, toxic substances or other like chemical preparations used by them in
the war or prepared by them for the purpose of being so used.
CHAPTER III
RECRUITING AND MILITARY TRAINING
ARTICLE 173.
Universal compulsory military service shall be abolished in Germany.
The German Army may only be constituted and recruited by means of voluntary
enlistment.
ARTICLE 174
The period of enlistment for non-commissioned officers and privates must be
twelve consecutive years.
The number of men discharged for any reason before the expiration of their
term of enlistment must not exceed in any year five per cent. of the total
effectives fixed by the second subparagraph of paragraph (I) of Article 160 of
the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 175.
The officers who are retained in the Army must undertake the obligation to
serve in it up to the age of forty-five years at least.
Officers newly appointed must undertake to serve on the active list for
twenty-five consecutive years at least.
Officers who have previously belonged to any formations whatever of the Army,
and who are not retained in the units allowed to be maintained, must not take
part in any military exercise whether theoretical or practical, and will not be
under any military obligations whatever.
The number of officers discharged for any reason before the expiration of
their term of service must not exceed in any year five per cent. of the total
effectives of officers provided for in the third sub-paragraph (I) of Article
160 of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 176.
On the expiration of two months from the coming into force of the present
Treaty there must only exist in Germany the number of military schools which is
absolutely indispensable for the recruitment of the officers of the units
allowed. These schools will be exclusively intended for the recruitment of
officers of each arm, in the proportion of one school per arm.
The number of students admitted to attend the courses of the said schools
will be strictly in proportion to the vacancies to be filled in the cadres of
officers. The students and the cadres will be reckoned in the effectives fixed
by the second and third subparagraphs of paragraph (I) of Article 160 of the
present Treaty.
Consequently, and during the period fixed above, all military academies or
similar institutions in Germany, as well as the different military schools for
officers, student officers (Aspiranten), cadets, non-commissioned officers or
student non- commissioned officers (Aspiranten), other than the schools above
provided for, will be abolished.
ARTICLE 171.
Educational establishments, the universities, societies of discharged
soldiers, shooting or touring clubs and, generally speaking associations of
every description, whatever be the age of their members, must not occupy
themselves with any military matters.
In particular they will be forbidden to instruct or exercise their members or
to allow them to be instructed or exercised, in the profession or use of arms.
These societies, associations, educational establishments and universities
must have no connection with the Ministries of War or any other military
authority.
ARTICLE l78.
All measures of mobilisation or appertaining to mobilisation are forbidden.
In no case must formations, administrative services or General Staffs include
supplementary cadres.
ARTICLE 179.
Germany agrees, from the coming into force of the present Treaty, not to
accredit nor to send to any foreign country any military, naval or air mission,
nor to allow any such mission to leave her territory, and Germany further agrees
to take appropriate measures to prevent German nationals from leaving her
territory to become enrolled in the Army, Navy or Air service of any foreign
Power, or to be attached to such Army, Navy or Air service for the purpose of
assisting in the military, naval or air training thereof, or otherwise for the
purpose of giving military, naval or air instruction in any foreign country.
The Allied and Associated Powers agree, so far as they are concerned, from
the coming into force of the present Treaty, not to enroll in nor to attach to
their armies or naval or air forces any German national for the purpose of
assisting in the military training of such armies or naval or air forces, or
otherwise to employ any such German national as military, naval or aeronautic
instructor.
The present provision does not, however, affect the right of France to
recruit for the Foreign Legion in accordance with French military laws and
regulations.
CHAPTER IV.
FORTIFICATIONS
ARTICLE 180.
All fortified works, fortresses and field works situated in German territory
to the west of a line drawn fifty kilometres to the east of the Rhine shall be
disarmed and dismantled.
Within a period of two months from the coming into force of the present
Treaty such of the above fortified works, fortresses and field works as are
situated in territory not occupied by Allied and Associated troops shall be
disarmed, and within a further period of four months they shall be dismantled.
Those which are situated in territory occupied by Allied and Associated troops
shall be disarmed and dismantled within such periods as may be fixed by the
Allied High Command.
The construction of any new fortification, whatever its nature and
importance, is forbidden in the zone referred to in the first paragraph above.
The system of fortified works of the southern and eastern frontiers of
Germany shall be maintained in its existing state.
SECTION II.
NAVAL CLAUSES.
ARTICLE 181.
After the expiration of a period of two months from the coming into force of
the present Treaty the German naval forces in commission must not exceed:
6 battleships of the Deutschland or Lothringen type, 6 light cruisers, 12
destroyers, 12 torpedo boats,
or an equal number of ships constructed to replace them as provided in
Article l90.
No submarines are to be included.
All other warships, except where there is provision to the contrary in the
present Treaty, must be placed in reserve or devoted to commercial purposes.
ARTICLE 182
Until the completion of the minesweeping prescribed by Article 193 Germany
will keep in commission such number of minesweeping vessels as may be fixed by
the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
ARTICLE 183
After the expiration of a period of two months from the coming into force of
the present Treaty, the total personnel of the German Navy, including the
manning of the Deet, coast defences, signal stations, administration and other
land services, must not exceed fifteen thousand, including officers and men of
all grades and corps,
The total strength of officers and warrant officers must not exceed fifteen
hundred.
Within two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty the
personnel in excess of the above strength shall be demobilised.
No naval or military corps or reserve force in connection with the Navy may
be organised in Germany without being included in the above strength.
ARTICLE 184
From the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty all the German
surface warships which are not in German ports cease to belong to Germany, who
renounces all rights over them.
Vessels which, in compliance with the Armistice of November 11, 1918, are now
interned in the ports of the Allied and Associated Powers are declared to be
finally surrendered.
Vessels which are now interned in neutral ports will be there surrendered to
the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers. The German
Government must address a notification to that effect to the neutral Powers on
the coming into force of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 185.
Within a period of two months from the coming into force of the present
Treaty the German surface warships enumerated below will be surrendered to the
Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in such Allied ports
as the said Powers may direct.
These warships will have been disarmed as provided in Article XXIII of the
Armistice of November 11, 1918. Nevertheless they must have all their guns on
board.
BATTLESHIPS.
Oldenburg. Thuringen. Ostfriesland. Helgoland. Posen. Westfalen. Rheinland.
Nassau.
LIGHT CRUISERS.
Stettin. Danzig. Munchen. Lubeck. Stralsund. Augsburg. Kolberg. Stuttgart.
and, in addition, forty-two modern destroyers and fifty modern torpedo boats,
as chosen by the Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
ARTICLE 186.
On the coming into force of the present Treaty the German Government must
undertake, under the supervision of the Governments of the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers, the breaking up of all the German surface warships now under
construction.
ARTICLE 187 .
The German auxiliary cruisers and fleet auxiliaries enumerated below will be
disarmed and treated as merchant ships.
INTERNED IN NEUTRAL COUNTRIES:
Berlin. Santa Fe. Seydlitz. Yorck.
IN GERMANY:
Ammon. Answald. Bosnia. Cordoba. Cassel. Dania. Rio Negro. Rio Pardo. Santa
Cruz. Schwaben. Solingen. Steigerwald. Franken. Gundomar. Furst Bulow. Gertrud.
Kigoma. Rugia. Santa Elena. Schleswig. Mowe. Sierra Ventana. Chemnitz. Emil
Georg von Strauss. Habsburg. Meteor. Waltraute. Scharnhorst.
ARTICLE 188.
On the expiration of one month from the coming into force of the present
Treaty all German submarines, submarine salvage vessels and docks for
submarines, including the tubular dock, must have been handed over to the
Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
Such of these submarines, vessels and docks as are considered by the said
Governments to be fit to proceed under their own power or to be towed shall be
taken by the German Government. into such Allied ports as have been indicated
The remainder, and also those in course of construction, shall be broken up
entirely by the German Government under the supervision of the said Governments.
The breaking-up must be completed within three months at the most after the
coming into force of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 189.
ARTICLEs, machinery and material arising from the breaking-up of German
warships of all kinds, whether surface vessels or submarines, may not be used
except for purely industrial or commercial purposes.
They may not be sold or disposed of to foreign countries.
ARTICLE 190.
Germany is forbidden to construct or acquire any warships other than those
intended to replace the units in commission provided for in Article l81 of the
present Treaty
The warships intended for replacement purposes as above shall not exceed the
following displacement:
Armoured ships 10,000 tons
Light cruisers 6,000 tons
Destroyers 800 tons
Torpedo boats 200 tons
Except where a ship has been lost, units of the different classes shall only
be replaced at the end of a period of twenty years in the case of battleships
and cruisers, and fifteen years in the case of destroyers and torpedo boats,
counting from the launching of the ship.
ARTICLE 191.
The construction or acquisition of any submarine, even for commercial
purposes, shall be forbidden in Germany.
ARTICLE 192.
The warships in commission of the German fleet must have on board or in
reserve only the allowance of arms, munitions and war material fixed by the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers. Within a month from the fixing of the
quantities as above, arms, munitions and war material of all kinds, including
mines and torpedoes, now in the hands of the German Government and in excess of
the said quantities, shall be surrendered to the Governments of the said Powers
at places to be indicated by them. Such arms, munitions and war material will be
destroyed or rendered useless.
All other stocks, depots or reserves of arms, munitions or naval war material
of all kinds are forbidden.
The manufacture of these articles in German territory for, and their export
to, foreign countries shall be forbidden.
ARTICLE 193.
On the coming into force of the present Treaty Germany will forthwith sweep
up the mines in the following areas in the North Sea to the eastward of
longitude 4° 00', E. of Greenwich:
(1) Between parallels of latitude 53° 00', N. and 59° 00', N.; (2) To the
northward of latitude 60° 30' N.
Germany must keep these areas free from mines.
Germany must also sweep and keep free from mines such areas in the Baltic as
may ultimately be notified by the Governments of the Principal Allied and
Associated Powers.
ARTICLE 194.
The personnel of the German Navy shall be recruited entirely by voluntary
engagements entered into for a minimum period of twenty- five consecutive years
for officers and warrant officers; twelve consecutive years for petty officers
and men.
The number engaged to replace those discharged for any reason before the
expiration of their term of service must not exceed five per cent. per annum of
the totals laid down in this Section (Article 183).
The personnel discharged from the Navy must not receive any kind of naval or
military training or undertake any further service in the Navy or Army.
Officers belonging to the Germany Navy and not demobilised must engage to
serve till the age of forty-five, unless discharged for sufficient reasons.
No officer or man of the German mercantile marine shall receive any training
in the Navy.
ARTICLE 195.
In order to ensure free passage into the Baltic to all nations, Germany shall
not erect any fortifications in the area comprised between latitudes 55° 27' N.
and 54° 00' N. and longitudes 9° 00' E. and 16° 00' E. of the meridian of
Greenwich, nor install any guns commanding the maritime routes between the North
Sea and the Baltic. The fortifications now existing in this area shall be
demolished and the guns removed under the supervisions of the Allied Governments
and in periods to be fixed by them.
The German Government shall place at the disposal of the Governments of the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers all information now in its possession
concerning the channels and adjoining waters between the Baltic and the North
Sea.
ARTICLE 196.
All fortified works and fortifications, other than those mentioned in Section
XIII (Heligoland) of Part III (Political Clauses for Europe) and in Article 195,
now established within fifty kilometres of the German coast or on German islands
off that coast shall be considered as of a defensive nature and may remain in
their existing condition.
No new fortifications shall be constructed within these limits. The armament
of these defences shall not exceed, as regards the number and calibre of guns,
those in position at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty.
The German Government shall communicate forthwith particulars thereof to all the
European Governments.
On the expiration of a period of two months from the coming into force of the
present Treaty the stocks of ammunition for these guns shall be reduced to and
maintained at a maximum figure of fifteen hundred rounds per piece for calibres
of 4.1-inch and under, and five hundred rounds per piece for higher calibres.
ARTICLE 197.
During the three months following the coming into force of the present Treaty
the German high-power wireless telegraphy stations at Nauen, Hanover and Berlin
shall not be used for the transmission of messages concerning naval, military or
political questions of interest to Germany or any State which has been allied to
Germany in the war, without the assent of the Governments of the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers. These stations may be used for commercial
purposes, but only under the supervision of the said Governments, who will
decide the wavelength to be used.
During the same period Germany shall not build any more high-power wireless
telegraphy stations in her own territory or that of Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria
or Turkey.
SECTION III.
AIR CLAUSES.
ARTICLE 198.
The armed forces of Germany must not include any military or naval air
forces.
Germany may, during a period not extending beyond October 1, 1919, maintain a
maximum number of one hundred seaplanes or flying boats, which shall be
exclusively employed in searching for submarine mines, shall be furnished with
the necessary equipment for this purpose, and shall in no case carry arms,
munitions or bombs of any nature whatever.
In addition to the engines installed in the seaplanes or flying boats above
mentioned, one spare engine may be provided for each engine of each of these
craft.
No dirigible shall be kept.
ARTICLE 199.
Within two months from the coming into force of the present Treaty the
personnel of air forces on the rolls of the German land and sea forces shall be
demobilised. Up to October 1, 1919, however, Germany may keep and maintain a
total number of one thousand men, including officers, for the whole of the
cadres and personnel, flying and non-flying, of all formations and
establishments.
ARTICLE 200.
Until the complete evacuation of German territory by the Allied and
Associated troops, the aircraft of the Allied and Associated Powers shall enjoy
in Germany freedom of passage through the air, freedom of transit and of
landing.
ARTICLE 201.
During the six months following the coming into force of the present Treaty,
the manufacture and importation of aircraft, parts of aircraft, engines for
aircraft, and parts of engines for aircraft, shall be forbidden in all German
territory.
ARTICLE 202.
On the coming into force of the present Treaty, all military and naval
aeronautical material, except the machines mentioned in the second and third
paragraphs of Article 198, must be delivered to the Governments of the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers.
Delivery must be effected at such places as the said Governments may select,
and must be completed within three months.
In particular, this material will include all items under the following heads
which are or have been in use or were designed for warlike purposes:
Complete aeroplanes and seaplanes, as well as those being manufactured,
repaired or assembled.
Dirigibles able to take the air, being manufactured, repaired or assembled.
Plant for the manufacture of hydrogen.
Dirigible sheds and shelters of every kind for aircraft.
Pending their delivery, dirigibles will, at the expense of Germany, be
maintained inflated with hydrogen; the plant for the manufacture of hydrogen, as
well as the sheds for dirigibles may at the discretion of the said Powers, be
left to Germany until the time when the dirigibles are handed over.
Engines for aircraft.
Nacelles and fuselages.
Armament (guns, machine guns, light machine guns, bombdropping apparatus,
torpedo-dropping apparatus, synchronisation apparatus, aiming apparatus).
Munitions (cartridges, shells, bombs loaded or unloaded, stocks of explosives
or of material for their manufacture).
Instruments for use on aircraft.
Wireless apparatus and photographic or cinematograph apparatus for use on
aircraft.
Component parts of any of the items under the preceding heads.
The material referred to above shall not be removed without special
permission from the said Governments.
SECTION IV.
INTER-ALLIED COMMISSIONS OF CONTROL.
ARTICLE 203.
All the military, naval and air clauses contained in the present Treaty, for
the execution of which a time-limit is prescribed, shall be executed by Germany
under the control of Inter-Allied Commissions specially appointed for this
purpose by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
ARTICLE 204.
The Inter-Allied Commissions of Control will be specially charged with the
duty of seeing to the complete execution of the delivery, destruction,
demolition and rendering things useless to be carried out at the expense of the
German Government in accordance with the present Treaty.
They will communicate to the German authorities the decisions which the
Principal Allied and Associated Powers have reserved the right to take, or which
the execution of the military, naval and air clauses may necessitate.
ARTICLE 205.
The Inter-Allied Commissions of Control may establish their organisations at
the seat of the central German Government.
They shall be entitled as often as they think desirable to proceed to any
point whatever in German territory, or to send subcommissions, or to authorise
one or more of their members to go, to any such point.
ARTICLE 206.
The German Government must give all necessary facilities for the
accomplishment of their missions to the Inter-Allied Commissions of Control and
to their members.
It shall attach a qualified representative to each Inter-Allied Commission of
Control for the purpose of receiving the communications which the Commission may
have to address to the German Government and of supplying or procuring for the
Commission all information or documents which may be required.
The German Government must in all cases furnish at its own cost all labour
and material required to effect the deliveries and the works of destruction,
dismantling, demolition, and of rendering things useless, provided for in the
present Treaty.
ARTICLE 207.
The upkeep and cost of the Commissions of Control and the expenses involved
by their work shall be borne by Germany.
ARTICLE 208.
The Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control will represent the
Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in dealing with the
German Government in all matters concerning the execution of the military
clauses.
In particular it will be its duty to receive from the German Government the
notifications relating to the location of the stocks and depots of munitions,
the armament of the fortified works, fortresses and forts which Germany is
allowed to retain, and the location of the works or factories for the production
of arms, munitions and war material and their operations.
It will take delivery of the arms, munitions and war material, will select
the points where such delivery is to be effected, and will supervise the works
of destruction, demolition, and of rendering things useless, which are to be
carried out in accordance with the present Treaty.
The German Government must furnish to the Military Inter-Allied Commission of
Control all such information and documents as the latter may deem necessary to
ensure the complete execution of the military clauses, and in particular all
legislative and administrative documents and regulations.
ARTICLE 209.
The Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control will represent the Governments
of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in dealing with the German
Government in all matters concerning the execution of the naval clauses.
In particular it will be its duty to proceed to the building yards and to
supervise the breaking-up of the ships which are under construction there, to
take delivery of all surface ships or submarines, salvage ships, docks and the
tubular docks, and to supervise the destruction and breaking-up provided for.
The German Government must furnish to the Naval Inter-Allied Commission of
Control all such information and documents as the Commission may deem necessary
to ensure the complete execution of the naval clauses, in particular the designs
of the warships, the composition of their armaments, the details and models of
the guns, munitions, torpedoes, mines, explosives, wireless telegraphic
apparatus and, in general, everything relating to naval war material, as well as
all legislative or administrative documents or regulations.
ARTICLE 210.
The Aeronautical Inter-Allied Commission of Control will represent the
Governments of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in dealing with the
German Government in all matters concerning the execution of the air clauses.
In particular it will be its duty to make an inventory of the aeronautical
material existing in German territory, to inspect aeroplane, balloon and motor
manufactories, and factories producing arms, munitions and explosives capable of
being used by aircraft, to visit all aerodromes, sheds, landing grounds, parks
and depots, to authorise, where necessary, a removal of material and to take
delivery of such material.
The German Government must furnish to the Aeronautical Inter-Allied
Commission of Control all such information and legislative, administrative or
other documents which the Commission may consider necessary to ensure the
complete execution of the air clauses, and in particular a list of the personnel
belonging to all the German Air Services, and of the existing material, as well
as of that in process of manufacture or on order, and a list of all
establishments working for aviation, of their positions, and of all sheds and
landing grounds.
SECTION V.
GENERAL ARTICLES.
ARTICLE 211.
After the expiration of a period of three months from the coming into force
of the present Treaty, the German laws must have been modified and shall be
maintained by the German Government in conformity with this Part of the present
Treaty.
Within the same period all the administrative or other measures relating to
the execution of this Part of the Treaty must have been taken.
ARTICLE 212.
The following portions of the Armistice of November 11, 1918 Article VI, the
first two and the sixth and seventh paragraphs of Article VII; Article IX;
Clauses I, II and V of Annex n° 2, and the Protocol, dated April 4, 1919,
supplementing the Armistice of November 11, 1918, remain in force so far as they
are not inconsistent with the above stipulations.
ARTICLE 213.
So long as the present Treaty remains in force, Germany undertakes to give
every facility for any investigation which the Council of the League of Nations,
acting if need be by a majority vote, may consider necessary.
PART VI.
PRISONERS OF WAR AND GRAVES.
SECTION I.
PRISONERS OF WAR.
ARTICLE 214.
The repatriation of prisoners of war and interned civilians shall take place
as soon as possible after the coming into force of the present Treaty and shall
be carried out with the greatest rapidity.
ARTICLE 215.
The repatriation of German prisoners of war and interned civilians shall, in
accordance with Article 214, be carried out by a Commission composed of
representatives of the Allied and Associated Powers on the one part and of the
German Government on the other part.
For each of the Allied and Associated Powers a Sub-Commission, composed
exclusively of Representatives of the interested Power and of Delegates of the
German Government, shall regulate the details of carrying into effect the
repatriation of the prisoners of war.
ARTICLE 216.
From the time of their delivery into the hands of the German authorities the
prisoners of war and interned civilians are to be returned without delay to
their homes by the said authorities.
Those amongst them who before the war were habitually resident in territory
occupied by the troops of the Allied and Associated Powers are likewise to be
sent to their homes, subject to the consent and control of the military
authorities of the Allied and Associated armies of occupation.
ARTICLE 217.
The whole cost of repatriation from the moment of starting shall be borne by
the German Government who shall also provide the land and sea transport and
staff considered necessary by the Commission referred to in Article 215.
ARTICLE 218.
Prisoners of war and interned civilians awaiting disposal or undergoing
sentence for offences against discipline shall be repatriated irrespective of
the completion of their sentence or of the proceedings pending against them.
This stipulation shall not apply to prisoners of war and interned civilians
punished for offences committed subsequent to May 1, 1919.
During the period pending their repatriation all prisoners of war and
interned civilians shall remain subject to the existing regulations, more
especially as regards work and discipline.
ARTICLE 219.
Prisoners of war and interned civilians who are awaiting disposal or
undergoing sentence for offences other than those against discipline may be
detained.
ARTICLE 220.
The German Government undertakes to admit to its territory without
distinction all persons liable to repatriation.
Prisoners of war or other German nationals who do not desire to be
repatriated may be excluded from repatriation; but the Allied and Associated
Governments reserve to themselves the right either to repatriate them or to take
them to a neutral country or to allow them to reside in their own territories.
The German Government undertakes not to institute any exceptional proceedings
against these persons or their families nor to take any repressive or vexatious
measures of any kind whatsoever against them on this account.
ARTICLE 221.
The Allied and Associated Governments reserve the right to make the
repatriation of German prisoners of war or German nationals in their hands
conditional upon the immediate notification and release by the German Government
of any prisoners of war who are nationals of the Allied and Associated Powers
and may still be in Germany.
ARTICLE 222.
Germany undertakes:
(1) To give every facility to Commissions to enquire into the cases of those
who cannot be traced; to furnish such Commissions with all necessary means of
transport; to allow them access to camps, prisons, hospitals and all other
places; and to place at their disposal all documents, whether public or private,
which would facilitate their enquiries;
(2) To impose penalties upon any German officials or private persons who have
concealed the presence of any nationals of any of the Allied and Associated
Powers or have neglected to reveal the presence of any such after it had come to
their knowledge.
ARTICLE 223.
Germany undertakes to restore without delay from the date of the coming into
force of the present Treaty all articles, money, securities and documents which
have belonged to nationals of the Allied and Associated Powers and which have
been retained by the German authorities.
ARTICLE 224.
The High Contracting Parties waive reciprocally all repayment of sums due for
the maintenance of prisoners of war in their respective territories.
SECTION II.
GRAVES.
ARTICLE 225.
The Allied and Associated Governments and the German Government will cause to
be respected and maintained the graves of the soldiers and sailors buried in
their respective territories.
They agree to recognise any Commission appointed by an Allied or Associated
Government for the purpose of identifying, registering, caring for or erecting
suitable memorials over the said graves and to facilitate the discharge of its
duties.
Furthermore they agree to afford, so far as the provisions of their laws and
the requirements of public health allow, every facility for giving effect to
requests that the bodies of their soldiers and sailors may be transferred to
their own country.
ARTICLE 226.
The graves of prisoners of war and interned civilians who are nationals of
the different belligerent States and have died in captivity shall be properly
maintained in accordance with Article 225 of the present Treaty.
The Allied and Associated Governments on the one part and the German
Government on the other part reciprocally undertake also to furnish to each
other:
(1) A complete list of those who have died, together with all information
useful for identification;
(2) All information as to the number and position of the graves of all those
who have been buried without identification.
Click for the next part of the Versailles Treaty.