Why Didn’t the Treaty of Versailles Say How Much Germany Owed?

The usual story says a vengeful France forced an impossible bill on a defeated Germany at Versailles. The documents tell a different story: in April 1919 the men drafting the treaty admitted in their own minutes that they could not agree on a figure, so they left the total blank and handed it to a future commission. This film follows Clemenceau, Wilson, Lloyd George and their experts through the closed-door sessions where that decision was made, Germany's own offer of a hundred billion gold marks, and the two years of argument that followed before a number was finally set in 1921, at barely half what the creditors had claimed. Drawing on the Council of Four's minutes, the Lansing note, the treaty's own articles, and the London Schedule of Payments, it traces exactly who decided to leave the bill blank, and why. You'll walk away knowing what Versailles actually said about reparations, who fought over every clause, and what the final figure turned out to be. MAPS Map imagery: NASA Blue Marble and Landsat (NASA/USGS) via NASA GIBS; Natural Earth. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:57 The Lansing Note 3:17 France's Claims 4:19 Council Argues Over Figures 7:53 Clemenceau's Condition 11:55 Treaty Clauses Drafted 20:18 Germany Signs At Versailles 23:54 The Bill Is Fixed