Klaipėda Region
Klaipėda Region | |||||||||
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| 1919–1923 | |||||||||
Flag
Coat of arms
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Historical map of Memelland and the northern part of East Prussia | |||||||||
| Status | Special territory under League of Nations protection | ||||||||
| Capital | Klaipėda | ||||||||
| Common languages | German Low German Lithuanian | ||||||||
| Presidents of the Directorate | |||||||||
• 1920–1921 | Arthur Altenberg | ||||||||
• 1921–1923 | Wilhelm Steputat | ||||||||
• 1923 | Erdmann Simoneit | ||||||||
| Legislature | Seimelis | ||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||||||
| 10 January 1919 | |||||||||
| 10–15 January 1923 | |||||||||
• Annexed by Lithuania | 19 January 1923 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 2,657 km2 (1,026 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Currency | Papiermark | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Lithuania | ||||||||
| History of Brandenburg and Prussia |
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| Present |
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The Klaipėda Region (Lithuanian: Klaipėdos kraštas) or Memel Territory (German: Memelland or Memelgebiet) was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administration of the Entente's Council of Ambassadors. The Memel Territory, together with other areas severed from Germany (the Saar and Danzig), was to remain under the control of the League of Nations until a future date, when the people of those regions would be allowed to vote on whether or not the land would return to Germany. Today, the former Memel Territory is controlled by Lithuania as part of Klaipėda and Tauragė counties.