Abstract

Among other things, the Treaty of Versailles laid the blame for the First World War on German aggression in 1914. During the Weimar era, this much hated pronouncement became a rallying cry for right-wing forces in Germany.

The Official Responsibility: The Treaty of Versailles, Article 231 (June 28, 1919)

Source

Part VIII. (Articles 231–247) Reparations

Article 231

The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.

Source: Treaty of Peace between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany and Protocol. Signed at Versailles, June 28, 1919. Available online at: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles

Recommended Citation

The Official Responsibility: The Treaty of Versailles, Article 231 (June 28, 1919), published in: German History in Documents and Images, <https://germanhistorydocs.org/en/wilhelmine-germany-and-the-first-world-war-1890-1918/ghdi:document-798> [September 26, 2025].

Three Emperors’ Treaty with Austria and Russia (June 18, 1881)

The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Treaty (August 23, 1939)

Excerpts from the Protocol of the Proceedings of the Yalta (Crimea) Conference (February 11, 1945)

OMGUS Survey on Attitudes toward Collective Guilt (December 1946)