History glossary
Article 231
the Versailles clause that assigned Germany and its allies responsibility for wartime loss and damage.
- Category
- Treaty clause
- Region
- Europe
- Date range
- 1919
What it means
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles assigned Germany and its allies responsibility for the loss and damage caused by the war. It provided the legal basis for reparations, but Germans widely read it as a moral accusation of sole war guilt.
Related terms
Stories using this term
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