@20committee I know you’rea quick study, but 2 weeks ago you were calling for books about history of WWI.
@20committee Reading it charitably, filled w religious and cultural biases. of the esteemed author. No discussion of Treaty of Versailles & disastrous consequenses, nor
Wilson’s 14 points, which explains Austria-Hungary breakup. Decisions at Versailles led to WWII.
Wilson’s 14 points, which explains Austria-Hungary breakup. Decisions at Versailles led to WWII.
@20committee Peace negotiations at Versailles were doomed to failure because of Clemenceau’s vindictiveness. Britain’s Lloyd-George did whatever Clemenceau asked and both wanted Ottoman Empire divided to benefit their colonial interests. Belgium & Switzerland offered.
@20committee Adamantly, Clemenceau insisted on Versailles, not a neutral location. Wilson arrived and realized he was the only one interested in peace. Everyone else wanted land. Wilson introduced his 14 points with proposals based on them, including independent Kurdistan
@20committee Belgium & Switzerland, rather than Versailles, would have been more amenable to Wilson’s proposals, which would not have produced the Iraq that resulted from France and Britain’s maneuvering borders to benefit their colonial interests. France got Saudi Arabia
@20committee To be sure that the French had no port in Saudi Arabia, Qatar was created from the peninsula in the Arabian Sea (Persian Gulf by Iranian reckoning). And Iraq wound up with the ethnic tensions that rack it to the present.
@20committee Wilson’s 14 points minimize conflicts & foster permanent peace had principle Point 10, that boundaries should be organized so that territorial cultural and religious ties were respected. No group could compel subservience of another. Governance by democracy.
@20committee Because of this point, the Hungarians opted out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I was informed on this history by friend Olge, no fan of Wilson, whose father was a Count. People had choice about their government.
@20committee Wilson had a stroke during the contentious Versailles meeting. Small stuffy room was stifling with Clemenceau’s cigarette smoke. Wilson’s doctor would open a window for fresh air, controlling Clemenceau would close it. After the stroke, Clemenceau prevailed
@20committee The group did approveWilson’s 14 Points and his League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations, although the US Senate would not consent (approve) to the Treaty of Versailles due to opposition by Wilson nemesis MA Sen.HenryCabot Lodge.
@20committee We live with the consequences of the failures of Versailles today. Because of those failings, Germany’s economy could not withstand onerous reparations demanded by Clemenceau& crushing inflation wiped out life savings. People starved. Hitler seemed an answer
@20committee The seeds of WW II and today’s Middle Eastern conflicts were all sewn in the failings of Versailles. US foreign policy the rest of the 20th century until Iraq Invasion rested on Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The rest of 20th century history has its roots therein
@20committee @threadreaderapp unroll
