Featured moment · World history

Treaty of Versailles

28 June 1919

The peace settlement signed at Versailles formally ended the state of war between Germany and the principal Allied powers.

Delegates gathered at the Hall of Mirrors for the Treaty of Versailles signing — Photograph: United States National Archives / Wikimedia Commons. View image, creator and licence on Wikimedia Commons.

What happened?

Representatives signed the treaty in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles on 28 June 1919, five years after the assassination at Sarajevo.

Why it mattered

Its terms addressed borders, disarmament, reparations and the League of Nations. The settlement became a major factor in interwar diplomacy and political instability.