NEWS FROM 100 YEARS AGO : 5 February 1923

5 FEBRUARY 1923

Progress at the Lausanne Conference stalled following the decision by Turkey to sign the treaty that had been proposed. The conference came to a temporary end, although was reopened in April 1923.

The Lithuanian Government said that it was unable to fulfil the terms of the Allies’ ultimatum on the Memel Question. The Memel Question was a diplomatic and political dispute over the status of the port city of Memel (now Klaipėda), which was located in East Prussia and had a predominantly German population. After World War I, the Allies granted the city to Lithuania, which led to tension between Lithuania and Germany. The Memel Question became a matter of international concern in the years following the war and was eventually resolved through a series of negotiations and agreements, including the Treaty of Versailles. The Memel Question was resolved in 1924 with the signing of the Klaipėda Convention.