Memel

The Memel territory was a strip of land in eastern Europe that was separated from German East Prussia in 1920, and put under French administration. The population was overwhelmingly German.

The area had been conquered by the Teutonic Order in the Middle Ages, and had belonged to Prussia for at least 500 years. It was inhabited by Germans as the largest part of the population, while a quarter declared itself Lithuanian, and another quarter, as local Memelländer and/or Klaipedians depending on language.

In 1923, Lithuanian military forces occupied the area during what is called the "Klaipeda revolt". The French forces put up a token resistance and left, and in 1923 the annexation of the area now called the Klaipeda region by Lithuania was confirmed by the international community. The Germans forced Lithuania to return the area in 1939 after 90% of the people voted for the Nazis.