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January 19.
On this day, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference officially commenced to finalize the terms of the end of the First World War. Insanely complex, with four victorious countries with differing aims for peace, plus the added complexity of competing Arab and Zionist movements for independence or land rights, it took over a year to complete, with the commencement of the League of Nations in January 1920.
Most often debated is whether the harsh terms imposed on Germany helped pave the way for the rise of Hitler and National Socialism, and the Second World War.
My particular opinion is that there were many factors that helped give rise to Hitler, but that the Versailles Treaty was at least a fairly significant contributing factor.
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