The Treaty of Versailles formally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. The treaty was highly controversial, primarily due to Article 231, the 'War Guilt Clause,' which forced Germany to accept sole responsibility for starting the war. Germany was stripped of 13% of its European territory, all its overseas colonies, and forced to pay massive financial reparations ($33 billion at the time). Its military was restricted to just 100,000 men with no tanks or air force. While the treaty established the League of Nations to prevent future conflicts, many historians argue the harshness of the terms created the economic instability and national resentment in Germany that fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party two decades later.