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Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) reads in full:
- "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.
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) is commonly known as the “Guilt Clause” or the "War Guilt Clause", in which Germany was forced to take complete responsibility for starting World War I. England and France played the primary role in the article, while the United States did not play as active a role, mostly due to President Woodrow Wilson's principle of "peace without victory".
Article 231 is the first article in Part VIII, "Reparations", and serves as a justification for the obligations put upon Germany in the remainder (Articles 233 through 247) of Part VIII.
Apart from "Article 231", there is no title for this article in the treaty itself. The names "Guilt Clause” and "War Guilt Clause" were assigned in later commentaries.
Historian Sally Marks asserts "The much-criticized 'war-guilt clause', Article 231...in fact makes no mention of war guilt" 'The Myths of Reparations'(1978) pp231-232
External links
- The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919 (see Part VIII)
"Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles"