The Saar Plebiscite
The Treaty of Versailles provided that at the termination of a period of fifteen years from its coming into force, a plebiscite should be held in the Saar Territory to determine under what sovereignty its inhabitants desired to be placed. The following conditions were laid down for the plebiscite: “A vote will take place by communes or districts on the three following alternatives: (a) maintenance of the régime established by the present Treaty and by this Annex; (b) union with France; (c) union with Germany. All persons, without distinction of sex, more than 20 years old at the date of voting, resident in the Territory at the date of signature of the present Treaty, will have the right to vote. The other conditions, methods, and the date of voting shall be fixed by the Council of the League of Nations in such a way as to secure the freedom, secrecy,and trustworthiness of the voting.”