The War that Did Not End All Wars

The reason the Wilson’s predictions were erroneous was that the peace treaty resulted in the humiliation of the German government and people, as it imposed crippling sanctions and heavy taxes on the country, weakening it tremendously. Adolf Hitler later capitalized on simmering anger and humiliation among the population to propel his evil campaign and eventually pushed the country into an even bigger global conflagration which sacrificed an even greater number of civilians. He launched the Holocaust which led to the extermination of eight million, including six million Jews, and hundreds of thousands of Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally or physically handicapped people as well as those who espoused other political viewpoints. In the Soviet Union alone, the casualties rose to 25 million, among them 300,000 Armenians.

Until today, Turkey, Germany’s ally during World War I, is visited by the Sevres Syndrome every time the end of World War I is mentioned. Although President Erdogan attended the Paris commemorations, the occasion was a somber day for his country because the Sevres Treaty of 1920, which followed the Armistice, dismembered the Ottoman Empire and were it not for the treachery of the Great Powers, Armenia would have a larger territory, covering most of the historic perimeters of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 wrested by the Kemalists ended up delineating today’s Turkish border.

The centennial ceremonies only served as a veneer of unity while undercurrents were very visible, as President Macron blamed nationalism as the root cause of conflicts. Thus chastised, President Trump skipped most of the activities to attend a ceremony in Suresnes, where US war victims were buried and paid tribute only to them and he publicly rebuked President Macron’s statement that nationalism ran counter to patriotism.

Macron and Merkel were hopelessly promoting multilateralism in their speeches, while Trump and right-wing leaders of the former Soviet bloc were pulling apart the world with their populism and unbridled nationalism.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was making amends for German atrocities against the Jews by mentioning the Shoah and Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938 and stating, “In our actions, we must prove that we Germans have truly learned from the past and truly become more vigilant because of our history.”

In her turn, Chancellor Merkel blamed “German arrogance” for causing both wars. While these two leaders were bending over backwards to apologize for their nation’s dark history, President Macron chose an opposite path when he stated that it is “legitimate to pay tribute to Gen. Philippe Petain, the victor of Verdun of 1916,” who later became a Nazi collaborator and sent many Jews to concentration camps.