Territory of the Saar Basin

Territory of the Saar Basin
Saarbeckengebiet, Saarterritorium (German)
Territoire du bassin de la Sarre (French)
1920–1935
Coat of arms of Saar
Coat of arms
Maps of the Territory of the Saar Basin
-The Saar Basin (red) -The Saar Basin (purple)
StatusTerritory under League of Nations protection
CapitalSaarbrücken
Common languagesFrench
German
Rhine Franconian
Moselle Franconian
GovernmentSpecial territory
Commission Chairman 
• 1920–1926
Victor Rault [de]
• 1926–1927
G. W. Stephens
• 1927–1932
Ernest Wilton
• 1932–1935
Geoffrey Knox
President of the Landesrat 
• 1922–1924
B. Koßmann [de]
• 1924–1935
Peter Scheuer [de]
Historical eraInterwar period
• Treaty of Versailles took effect
10 January 1920
13 January 1935
• Disestablished
1 March 1935
Population
• 1933
812,000
CurrencySaar franc
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Free State of Prussia
Rhine Province
Bavaria
Circle of the Rhine
Gau Westmark
Today part ofGermany

The Territory of the Saar Basin (German: Saarbeckengebiet, Saarterritorium;[1] French: Territoire du bassin de la Sarre) was a region occupied and governed by the United Kingdom and France from 1920 to 1935 under a League of Nations mandate. It had its own flag (adopted on 28 July 1920): a blue, white, and black horizontal tricolour. The blue and white stood for Bavaria, and white and black for Prussia, out of whose lands the Saar Territory was formed. Initially, the occupation was under the auspices of the Treaty of Versailles.[2] Its population in 1933 was 812,000, and its capital was Saarbrücken.[3] The territory closely corresponds with the modern German state of Saarland, but was slightly smaller in area.[4] After a plebiscite was held in 1935, it was returned to Germany.[5]

  1. ^ 1952 (in German). Walter de Gruyter. 1 January 2000. ISBN 978-3-4867-1832-4.
  2. ^ Article 45-50 with Annex, Treaty of Versailles
  3. ^ "Saarland: Heads of Administration: 1920–1935". Archontology.org. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  4. ^ The extent of the territory is specified in Article 48, Treaty of Versailles
  5. ^ Stahn, Carsten (2008). The Law and Practice of International Territorial Administration. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511585937. ISBN 978-0-521-87800-5.