Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is commonly referred to as the East Cantons (, ). Eupen-Malmedy became part of Belgium in the aftermath of World War I. The region, which had formerly been part of Prussia and the German Empire, was allocated to Belgium by the Treaty of Versailles. It was formally annexed after a controversial referendum in 1920, becoming part of Liège Province in 1925. Agitation by German nationalists during the interwar period led to its re-annexation by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was returned to Belgium in 1945. Nine of the eleven municipalities which originally constituted Eupen-Malmedy now form the German-speaking Community of Belgium, one of Belgium's three federal communities. History Background The northern part around Eupen was originally part of the Duchy of Limburg, a dependency of the Duchy of Brabant which was latterly part of the Austrian Netherlands. The Southern part, around Sankt Vith, belonged to the Duchy of Luxembourg. The small village of Manderfeld-Schönberg belonged to the Archbishopric of Trier. Malmedy and Waimes, except the village of Faymonville, were part of the abbatial principality of Stavelot-Malmedy which was an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire. By the 19th century, the majority of the territory spoke German while the city of Malmedy was split between French and German speakers. In this period, Eupen emerged as a minor centre of the industry for treating sheep's wool and enjoyed links to other manufacturing centres in the region of Aachen, Monschau, and Verviers. In 1795, as the French Revolutionary Army entered the Austrian Netherlands, the area was also taken over and eventually incorporated in its entirety into the French department of the Ourthe. Prussian administration, 1815–1919 At the Congress of Vienna, the whole area was awarded to the Kingdom of Prussia. In the northwest of the area, Moresnet, coveted by both the Netherlands and Prussia for its calamine, was declared a neutral territory. After 1830, the 50 percent guardianship of the Netherlands was taken over by newly independent Belgium, and this remained so even after 1839, when Belgium relinquished its claims to neighbouring Dutch Limburg. This change did not significantly affect the inhabitants of this region. Even in the mainly French or Walloon speaking Malmedy, changes went