I just finished watching this movie on the Military Channel and I can't say enough good things about it. This movie shows the viewer how the decisions made at the Paris Peace conference lead to the rise of the Nazis and eventually to WWII though the actual diaries and correspondence of the Allies and the other attendees of the conference.
It also shows how the Germans, who felt that they were not solely to blame for the war and had expected to be treated fairly at the peace conference, but were already found guilty by the Allies before they were even allowed to come to Paris.
There were many backroom deals at the conference and this movie lets you see how the world was carved up by the Allies.
The most interesting part of the movie for me though was how it shows that almost every conflict since 1919, including the Korea War, the Vietnam War, the multitude of conflicts in the Middle East and the former Yugoslav republics, can all be traced back to the decisions made at this conference. As an example Hồ Chí Minh, under the name of Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Nguyen the Patriot), petitioned for recognition of the civil rights of the Vietnamese people in French Indochina to the Western powers at the Versailles peace talks, but was ignored. Citing the language and the spirit of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Quốc petitioned U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for help to remove the French from Vietnam and replace it with a new, nationalist government. His request was ignored. Soon after Wilson's rebuke Hồ Chí Minh became a communist.
If you are a fan of history I am sure you will enjoy this movie. The movie is broken into two parts for television and is being replayed this Sunday, November 7, 2010, on the Military Channel starting at 8:00am. I recommend DVRing it.
It also shows how the Germans, who felt that they were not solely to blame for the war and had expected to be treated fairly at the peace conference, but were already found guilty by the Allies before they were even allowed to come to Paris.
There were many backroom deals at the conference and this movie lets you see how the world was carved up by the Allies.
The most interesting part of the movie for me though was how it shows that almost every conflict since 1919, including the Korea War, the Vietnam War, the multitude of conflicts in the Middle East and the former Yugoslav republics, can all be traced back to the decisions made at this conference. As an example Hồ Chí Minh, under the name of Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Nguyen the Patriot), petitioned for recognition of the civil rights of the Vietnamese people in French Indochina to the Western powers at the Versailles peace talks, but was ignored. Citing the language and the spirit of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Quốc petitioned U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for help to remove the French from Vietnam and replace it with a new, nationalist government. His request was ignored. Soon after Wilson's rebuke Hồ Chí Minh became a communist.
If you are a fan of history I am sure you will enjoy this movie. The movie is broken into two parts for television and is being replayed this Sunday, November 7, 2010, on the Military Channel starting at 8:00am. I recommend DVRing it.
Based on the best selling book by Margaret MacMillan, tells the story of the Paris Peace conference - an event that remade the world. In the film, we see the world's most powerful men wrestling with the politics of fear and greed in post WWI Europe.
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