Lost in victory: Lessons We don't want to learn after 100 years from infamous Treaty of Versailles
Today is 28th June and G20 meeting is in ready in #Japan but it is the same day when 100 years back two supper powers #UK & #France humiliated defeatist #Germany and Hitler was born out of that humiliation. Did we learn any lesson from it?
Humiliation of defeatist is a counter productive act not only at individual but also at collective level. The humiliation of Germans was not limited to that Treaty but they humiliated every #German living in #Europe & else where. They had to change their names.
Two months back world has witnessed 100 years of JillianwalaBagh Massacre that was an act of barbarianism by British colonial rulers in the Punjabi city Amritsar at 13 April 1919. But without having a knowledge & information about its background, events happened exactly on ground during that day or days and its impacts it is often hard to derive lessons for the future.
Traité de Versailles or Treaty of Versailles remembered as End of WW1 but in this digitized & well informed world even a child cannot believe on the fairy tale of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination was linked cleverly by smart victors as a sudden event that sparked World War I. German cum American diplomat Henry Alfred Kissinger was not the only one ( he mentioned it in his famous book On China) who called WW1 as Anti-German war. But so-called informed main stream media still not ready to deconstruct those clever stories. The recent example is an article published in France 24 under the title 100 years since the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. It is not the only article but due to its 100th year media houses are publishing numerous things in this regard.
Interestingly, victors of WW1 had lost their so-called pride within 22 years against #US when both #Britain & #France were compelled to sign, tactically ignored the Atlantic Charter at 14 August 1941. The charter was signed just to deal with same #Germans. So in many ways Treaty of Versailles proved beginning of the END for both #UK & France.
The 28th president of the United States Thomas Woodrow Wilson tried timely and pinched the pride of victors by introducing 14 Points at January 1918 but both powers were not ready to listen it. The resonance of 14 points got ample response in colonies and at Mochi gate, Lhore public meeting after infamous Jillianwalla massacre, Allama Iqbal had mentioned it but deaf colonizers could not hear it.
Although France 24 writer mentioned humiliation of Germany as well as Germans but he failed to link that humiliation with Rise of Hitler. Writer said, '' Signed at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris, the text set out 440 punishing articles that crippled Germany economically and morally.
Although the treaty was intended to leave the war's aggressor too weak to pose a new threat, its harsh terms eventually led the world into another global conflict just 20 years later.'' But what is important for us is not merely narration of events or explanation regarding riddles of power politics or Geo-politics but more essential thing is to hit the mindset by understanding the phenomenon.
Humiliation of defeatist is a counter productive act not only at individual but also at collective level. The humiliation of Germans was not limited to that Treaty but had a history and in her book Alex Von Tunzelaiman (Indian Summer) recorded biased treatment with Germans When Germans were forced to change their Names. Even the book MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1901-49 By Keith Jeffery Published by Bloomsbury, 2011 had explained why Germany became enemy no 1 in 1890s and had replaced its position in front of British eyes from Russia. They wanted to do same with Ottoman Turkey yet Treaty of Lausanne compelled them to show restraint.
But what happened after June 1919 and the world had to face Hitler too. Did both London & Paris, ever learned lesson? After WW2, new supper power led the world by introducing her chosen enemy Russia on the on hand and hammer of IMF & WB on the other hand.
Now after 100 years, Germany is rising again but both London & Paris are losing their strengths. France has chance to fly with EU but post Brexit UK will remain in pain. Post Cold war US is busy in same superiority complex as were UK and France in 1919. Humiliations of immigrants & Muslims is on the top, thanks to Trump. Continuous failures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela raised many questions and has exposed the mantara of sole supper power. Deal of the century is ready to turn into dilemma of the century. Thanks to The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran is not an easy target and that is why anxiety of Trump is increasing. On top of it BRI is there for damage control.
Trump phenomenon has an inbuilt design fault based on humiliation and in recent past he even humiliated its closest allies like KSA & UK.
At the eve of 14th summit of G20, it is hard to sell the idea of permanent powers. Thanks to digitization & internet, world is a boat and we are living in shared world.
100 years of Treaty of Versailles give us an opportunity to revisit 100 years and we should not miss this opportunity.
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