Versailles Reflection – Exemplar
Our conference started with such optimism I held high hopes that my country
would be honoured and respected for the contributions made during the Great War.
We are a humble people and didn’t demand much, just a bit of land, some money to
get government and infrastructure up and started, and the promise from the great
power nations at the conference that our national self-determination would be realized.
What a crushing blow, not just to our collective egos, but for the future of Europe when
I realized that America, Britain, and France (especially France) were going to carve up
Europe, the Middle East, Africa, actually the entire world in ways that benefitted them
most. I found it particularly frustrating dealing with two nations. The French were
stubborn and seemed dead set against our country receiving anything but the tiniest
portion of land and barely any reparations payments for the losses of life (125 000 of
our men died) and cost of the war. Besides France, the Italians (who had left half way
through anyway) were extremely difficult to deal with and seemed to garner more
respect from the great powers even though it was evident they were only working in
their best interests. Why would they be so trusted after all of the flip-flopping they did
during the war? I found we would be promised one thing at the start of class, and then
all of that would disappear or be altered beyond recognition by the end. It was evident
that the great powers were only telling us what we wanted to hear whilst at the table,
then rearranging and manipulating to meet their own needs.
The conference gave me a brief but important look into the complexities of
negotiations. It was extremely important to meet neighbouring nations beforehand and
determine what would be reasonable and acceptable borders between us. The issue of
money was delicate as we knew asking too much could be punishing, but asking too
little might endanger us of being taken too lightly. All in all I felt that no matter how
adept and skilled we were with our negotiation and diplomacy techniques it was
inevitable that the great powers were going to do as they pleased. I’ve already alluded
to that frustration in my opening paragraph, but it cannot be stated enough that one of
the greatest liabilities of this international conference was the super-dominance of those
three countries.
I don’t believe our conference was a success at all. We have punished and
blamed Germany beyond any reasonable amount. How France can feel that this will
lead to a peaceful Europe for future generations is beyond me. Such rage and hatred is
what starts wars, not ends them. The fact that there is this imperialistic attitude still
prevailing all over Europe in terms of the Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia
proves to me that we have learned very little from the past and are headed straight into
another conflict. Will it be worldwide again? I cannot say for sure but it wouldn’t
surprise me and given the amazing advances in technology it could be destructive
beyond our comprehension.