Editing First World War (section)

== Aftermath ==

The Paris Peace Conference opened on 18 January 1919. The [[Treaty of Versailles]] was signed with Germany on 28 June 1919. It imposed territorial losses, military restrictions and reparations obligations. Separate treaties were concluded with Austria and Bulgaria. Hungary signed its treaty in 1920. The Ottoman settlement remained disputed until the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923.

The German Empire ended and was replaced by the [[Weimar Republic]]. Austria-Hungary dissolved into separate states. Hungary proclaimed the Hungarian Democratic Republic on 16 November 1918. The [[Treaty of Trianon]], signed on 4 June 1920, established Hungary's post-war borders.

Slovene political representatives joined the [[State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs]] on 29 October 1918. That state united with Serbia on 1 December to form the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]. The post-war settlement divided Slovene-speaking areas between the new kingdom, Italy, Austria and Hungary.

The collapse of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires allowed competing Ukrainian governments to form. The [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] declared independence in January 1918 but did not establish lasting control. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic later became a founding republic of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1922.

Germany lost its overseas colonies. Belgium retained control over Rwanda and Burundi under the mandate system. Former Ottoman territories in the Middle East were placed mainly under British and French mandates.

The [[League of Nations]] began operating on 10 January 1920. The United States did not join it. The settlement left disputes over borders and minority populations. Reparations remained a major political issue. In Germany, opposition to the Treaty of Versailles became a central theme of nationalist politics and was later used by the [[Nazi Party]].