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fandomhigh2009-09-22 09:56 am
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2009-09-22 09:56 am
World Wars in the Media, Tuesday
"In 1919, the Great War officially ended," Mitchell started. "It'd run its course by 1918, of course, but it wasn't until June that next year when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The nationalism that had started the war had sunk into the mud by the time the people had realised that there was no such thing as a glorious death in battle..." If he sounded a little invested in this particular lesson, well, he had his reasons. "Just boys dying alone and terrified on the open terrain for a single square foot of territory, or some general's bragging rights." He gestured. "Not that that meant much, at the time. In fact, during the war, conscientous objectors were frowned upon. Might seem off now, but the Americans actually banned free speech-- they called it 'espionage', or 'interfering with the American war effort'."
He snorted. "Yeah, that was a fine move. But we'll talk more about that by the time Vietnam rolls along. Anyway, the net result was that all of that propaganda-- all of that optimism, that fine faith in what made your country great had evaporated. Some people limped back to their homes and nursed their wounds; others made efforts for a more international world, to make sure that what had happened before didn't happen again. The allies had won, but at what cost?" He shrugged. "And then there was Germany."
He reached over towards the keyboard by his feet, and pressed a button, revealing an image on the back wall. "The Treaty of Versailles," he said. "The treaty to end all wars. So they said. It broke down the war to one simple premise: Germany was at fault." He paused, glancing around the room. "Remember how this whole mess got started? Do you think that's a fair cop? The Germans certainly didn't. Especially not since they'd lost the most soldiers out of anyone involved."
He nodded at Dinahif she was there to pass around the handout. "The treaty was a compromise, and an unhappy one at that - the French wanted revenge, the British wanted to make sure the communists weren't going to go barging into Europe and needed Germany for a buffer, and the Americans just wanted to get off the continent. So they crippled the country just enough, made them pay regular fines they didn't have the money for, stripped it of some land, but left it otherwise intact."
He swung his feet. "Nobody was happy about this," he said. "Nobody got exactly what they wanted. Look at the other set of handouts. This was the discussion being had in the press of most of these countries. In a world that was demoralized and looking for someone to blame-- do you think they picked the right strategy at all?" A pause. "Don't answer that - the answer would be no. Think about the environment this bred, though... if you were looking to take advantage of this situation for whatever purpose - although with you lot, I'm hoping it's peace... pick a side, pick a partner, talk about what you might have done, following Versailles, to use the buzz in the media."
[[ ocd up. ]]
He snorted. "Yeah, that was a fine move. But we'll talk more about that by the time Vietnam rolls along. Anyway, the net result was that all of that propaganda-- all of that optimism, that fine faith in what made your country great had evaporated. Some people limped back to their homes and nursed their wounds; others made efforts for a more international world, to make sure that what had happened before didn't happen again. The allies had won, but at what cost?" He shrugged. "And then there was Germany."
He reached over towards the keyboard by his feet, and pressed a button, revealing an image on the back wall. "The Treaty of Versailles," he said. "The treaty to end all wars. So they said. It broke down the war to one simple premise: Germany was at fault." He paused, glancing around the room. "Remember how this whole mess got started? Do you think that's a fair cop? The Germans certainly didn't. Especially not since they'd lost the most soldiers out of anyone involved."
He nodded at Dinah
He swung his feet. "Nobody was happy about this," he said. "Nobody got exactly what they wanted. Look at the other set of handouts. This was the discussion being had in the press of most of these countries. In a world that was demoralized and looking for someone to blame-- do you think they picked the right strategy at all?" A pause. "Don't answer that - the answer would be no. Think about the environment this bred, though... if you were looking to take advantage of this situation for whatever purpose - although with you lot, I'm hoping it's peace... pick a side, pick a partner, talk about what you might have done, following Versailles, to use the buzz in the media."
[[ ocd up. ]]
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