On 28 June 1919, at Versailles, Poland signs the “Little Treaty of Versailles” (the minorities treaty) — the instrument tying recognition of Poland as a state to guarantees for national, religious and linguistic minorities.

Signed the same day as the peace treaty with Germany, it obliges Poland to ensure equality before the law, religious freedom and language rights, under League of Nations supervision.

The model was applied to other successor states in Central and Eastern Europe. It was a compromise between national sovereignty and international minority protection after the First World War.

Polish critics saw it as interference; for the Allies it was the condition for recognising borders and joining the new Paris order.

For minority law, 28 June 1919 marks the first “minorities” treaty linked to the Versailles peace.

The text is documented in League of Nations treaty collections and Avalon / diplomatic archives.

The Little Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919 remains the milestone of minority protection in interwar Poland.

Image: Versailles; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Little Treaty of Versailles. Treaty text: Polish Minority Treaty (Little Treaty of Versailles) — text.