Editing Treaty of Versailles (section)

===Territorial changes===
[[File:German losses after WWI.svg|thumb|right|Germany after Versailles:

{{legend|#ddefd0|Administered by the [[League of Nations]]}}
{{legend|#ffffcf|Annexed or transferred to neighbouring countries by the treaty, or later via plebiscite and League of Nations action}}
{{legend|#f6d3a9|[[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]]}}|alt=A map of Germany. It is colour-coded to show the transfer of territory from German to the surrounding countries and define the new borders.]]

The treaty stripped Germany of {{convert|25000|sqmi|km2|order=flip|abbr=on}} of territory and 7&nbsp;million people. It also required Germany to give up the gains made via the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and grant independence to the protectorates that had been established.{{sfn|Truitt|2010|p=114}}
In [[Western Europe]], Germany was required to recognize Belgian sovereignty over [[Moresnet]] and cede control of the [[Eupen-Malmedy]] area. Within six months of the transfer, Belgium was required to conduct a [[plebiscite]] on whether the citizens of the region wanted to remain under Belgian sovereignty or return to German control, communicate the results to the League of Nations and abide by the League's decision.<ref name="Articles 33 and 34" group="n.">[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 33 and 34]].</ref> The Belgian transitional administration, under High Commissioner General [[Herman Baltia]], was responsible for the organisation and control of this process, held between January and June 1920. The plebiscite itself was held without a [[secret ballot]], and organized as a consultation in which all citizens who opposed the annexation had to formally register their protest. Ultimately, only 271 of 33,726 voters signed the protest list, of which 202 were German state servants. After the Belgian government reported this result, the League of Nations confirmed the change of status on 20 September 1920, with the line of the German-Belgian border finally fixed by a League of Nations commission in 1922.{{sfn|Brüll|2014}} To compensate for the destruction of French coal mines, Germany was to cede the output of the [[Saar (river)|Saar]] coalmines to France and [[Territory of the Saar Basin|control of the Saar to the League of Nations]] for 15 years; a plebiscite would then be held to decide sovereignty.<ref name="Articles 45 and 49" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 45 and 49]]</ref>
The treaty restored the provinces of [[Alsace-Lorraine]] to France by rescinding the treaties of [[Treaty of Versailles (1871)|Versailles]] and [[Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)|Frankfurt]] of 1871 as they pertained to this issue.<ref name="Section V preamble and Article 51" group="n.">[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III#Article 51|Section V preamble and Article 51]]</ref>
France was able to make the claim that the provinces of [[Alsace-Lorraine]] were indeed part of France and not part of Germany by disclosing a letter sent from the Prussian King to the [[Empress Eugénie]] that Eugénie provided, in which [[William I, German Emperor|William I]] wrote that the territories of Alsace-Lorraine were requested by Germany for the sole purpose of national defense and not to expand the German territory.{{sfn|Reinach|1920|p=193}} The sovereignty of [[Schleswig-Holstein]] was to be resolved by a plebiscite to be held at a future time (see [[Schleswig Plebiscites]]).{{sfn|Peckham|2003|p=107}}

In [[Central Europe]] Germany was to recognize the independence of [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] and cede parts of the province of [[Upper Silesia]] to them.<ref name="Articles 81 and 83" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 81 and 83]]</ref>
Germany had to recognize the independence of [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], which had [[Polish independence regained|regained its independence]] following a national revolution against the occupying Central Powers, and renounce "all rights and title" over Polish territory. Portions of Upper Silesia were to be ceded to Poland, with the future of the rest of the province to be decided by plebiscite. The border would be fixed with regard to the vote and to the geographical and economic conditions of each locality.<ref name="Article 88 and annex" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 88 and annex]]</ref>
The [[Province of Posen]] (now [[Poznań]]), which had come under Polish control during the [[Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland Uprising]], was also to be ceded to Poland.{{sfn|Frucht|2004|p=24}}{{sfn|Martin|2007|p=lii}}
[[Pomerelia]] (Eastern Pomerania), on historical and ethnic grounds, was transferred to Poland so that the new state could have access to the sea and became known as the [[Polish Corridor]].{{sfn|Boemeke|Feldman|Glaser|1998|p=325}}
The sovereignty of part of southern [[East Prussia]] was to be decided via [[1920 East Prussian plebiscite|plebiscite]] while the East Prussian [[Działdowo|Soldau area]], which was astride the rail line between [[Warsaw]] and [[Gdańsk|Danzig]], was transferred to Poland outright without plebiscite.<ref name="Article 94" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 94]]</ref>{{sfn|Ingrao|Szabo|2007|p=261}}
An area of {{convert|51800|km²|sqmi|abbr=off}} was transferred to Poland under the agreement.{{sfn|Brezina|2006|p=34}}
[[Klaipėda Region|Memel]] was to be ceded to the Allied and Associated powers, for disposal according to their wishes.<ref name="Article 99" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Article 99]]</ref>
Germany was to cede the city of Danzig and its hinterland, including the delta of the [[Vistula River]] on the [[Baltic Sea]], for the League of Nations to establish the [[Free City of Danzig]].<ref name="Articles 100–104" group=n.>[[s:Treaty of Versailles/Part III|Articles 100–104]]</ref>