Overburdened Peace: German Experiences and Global Perspectives in 1918/19 - Jorn Leonhard

The First World War was an industrialized mass war. The longer it lasted, the more it changed the societies that waged it, and the faster it devaluated the knowledge of politicians. This lecture looks at the complex process how states and societies, in particular Germany, experienced the critical transition from war to peace from 1918-19, and what this process meant for the further course of the twentieth century. The high expectations, contradictory promises, overwhelming and pressing challenges and the various strategies of greater and smaller powers all played a part in the overburdened peace that came out of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Lecture given as part of The National WWI Museum and Memorial's 2019 Symposium '1919: Peace?' For more information about the National WWI Museum and Memorial visit http://theworldwar.org