Versailles at 100
One hundred years ago today, the tragically flawed treaty was inked at the Paris Peace Conference between Germany and the Allies in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, ending the Great War as far as Berlin was concerned. The better part of the High Seas Fleet lay awash in Scapa Flow, scuttled just a week prior, and much of Germany’s western border regions were under Allied occupation. Meanwhile, Poland was flexing in the East and the Bolsheviks were within a year of winning the Russian Civil War.
The Versailles Treaty went into effect on January 10, 1920, and the ripples would be heard in 1939.
Stacking racks of heavily greased surrendered German Mauser 98 trophy rifles by the U.S. Army of Occupation. 12/22/1919. LOC 98 111-SC-67463
The Versailles Treaty went into effect on January 10, 1920, and Prohibition in the United States went into effect a week later. Nineteen-twenty was a banner year for swell ideas.