Untitled Document

What did the Treaty of Versailles say?
  • According to the Treaty of Versailles, the coal of the Saarland was to go to France for 15 years.
  • The Saarland was administered by the League of Nations.
  • After 15 years a referendum had to be held, in which the people of the Saar could decide whether they wanted to be incorporated into France or into Germany.
Referendum
  • In January 1935 the referendum was held.
  • The area consisted mainly of German-speaking people. This is how they voted:
The 1935 referendum
Click on the box of your choice.

Aftermath

  • Hitler was ecstatic about the massive support shown for Nazi Germany by the people of the Saar basin in the referendum.
  • He used this result to his advantage, telling the German people the following:

    • that it was a victory for the Nazis against the French
    • that it showed how highly the Third Reich was regarded
Test yourself
Look at the second point of the paragraph entitled Aftermath then fill in the correct answer in the white textfield and press submit.
  • Hitler also made a statement in which he declared that Germany would make no further claims on any territories owned by France.
© learnthings ltd. User terms
For more than 40,000 pages of award-winning learning resources, visit learnpremium, the e-learning schools subscription service, backed by the Guardian at www.learnpremium.co.uk