Ribbentrop signed the Treaty of the Cession of the Memel Territory to Germany in exchange for a Lithuanian Free Zone for 99 years in the port of Memel, using the facilities erected in previous years. Hitler had anticipated this aboard a Kriegsmarine naval ship and at dawn sailed into Memel to celebrate the return heim ins Reich of the Memelland. This proved to be the last of a series of bloodless annexations of territories separated from the German or Austrian Empire by the Treaty of Versailles, which had been perceived by many Germans as a humiliation. German forces seized the territory even before the official Lithuanian ratification. The United Kingdom and France, as after the revolt of 1923, took no action. It was under these conditions that the Seimas was forced to approve the treaty, hoping that Germany would not press any other territorial demands upon Lithuania. Still, the reunion with Germany was welcomed by the majority of the population, both by Germans and by Memelanders. According to the treaty, the citizens of the Memel Territory were allowed to choose their citizenship: either German or Lithuanian. 303 people or, counting family members, 585, asked for Lithuanian citizenship but only 20 requests were granted. Another term stated that persons who had settled in the Memel Territory during the occupation period from 1923 to 1939 should emigrate. About 8,900 Lithuanians did so. At the same time, Germany expelled about 1,300 local Memel and Lithuanian Jews and about 40 Prussian Lithuanians. Politics Governors High Commissioners Dominique Joseph Odry, France (15 February 1920 – 1 May 1921) Jean Gabriel Petisné, France (1 May 1921 – 19 February 1923) Plenipotentiaries Jonas Polovinskas-Budrys, Lithuania (19 February 1923 – 24 February 1923) (acting) Antanas Smetona, Lithuania (24 February 1923 – 27 October 1924) Governors Jonas Polovinskas-Budrys (27 October 1924 – 8 November 1925) Jonas Žilius (8 November 1925 – 1 August 1926) Karolis Žalkauskas (1 August 1926 – 1 November 1927) Antanas Merkys (1 November 1927 – 19 May 1932) Vytautas Jonas Gylys (19 May 1932 – 25 November 1933) Jonas Navakas (25 November 1933 – 5 February 1935) Vladas Kurkauskas (5 February 1935 – 15 October 1936) Jurgis Kubilius (15 October 1936 – 12 December 1938) Viktoras Gailius (12 December 1938 – 22 March 1939) Transitional Commissioner for the Integration of Memelland Erich Koch (23 March 1939 – 30 April 1939) Directorate World War II and