By the terms of the peace treaty as it was handed to the Germans on May 7, 1919, the future national status of the northern part of Schleswig was to be determined by a plebiscite in each of three zones, the only option of the plebiscite being whether the territory was to be Prussian or Danish. Denmark refused to consider a vote in the third or southerly zone, and the treaty was amended to include merely the first two. The treaty provided for the evacuation of the two northern zones by the German authorities within ten days after it went into effect, or between January 10 and 20, 1920.