On
June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and World War I was
officially over. The end came five years after Archduke Franz
Ferdinand’s assassination, which started it all. Fighting had stopped
on November 11, 1918, with the signing of the armistice, but it wasn’t
until six months later that the peace treaty was finalized.
One
of the most important parts of the treaty demanded that Germany (and the
rest of the Central Powers) accept responsibility for all damage caused
during the war. This was later nicknamed the “War Guilt clause”
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and
led to the disarming of Germany, giving up of territory, and payment of
steep reparations. Historians now attribute this clause as having been
a driving factor in the rise of the Nazi party and the beginning of
WWII.
Despite remaining neutral until 1917, the US was integral
in ending WWI. By the end of the war, about five million Americans were
fighting in Europe. Nearly 117,000 didn’t make it home. Without
America’s help, the tide of the war may never have turned in the Allies’
favor…
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