Werner wrote:Is it possible a Wilsonian peace would have thrown Germany and Austria into Lenin's sphere of influence?
Could well be. We have to bear in mind that late in 1918 Germany was boiling with unrest. Revolution was not a distinct possibility, it was happening in the streets.
Whatever the conditions of the peace, the factors that mattered were thousands and thousands of soldiers and sailors coming home and vast amounts of weaponry available. Versailles put another twist into it and certainly made the situation even more difficult, but the troubles Germany was in in 1918/19 had little to do with the peace treaty.
I am frightened by the prospect that WW.II may have been the best possible outcome for the era.
I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that - in fact, there are a number of turning points available, at which history could have taken another turn avoiding WW2 in Europe.
To take just two examples from German history, an early one and a late one - a breakup of Germany in 1918/19 resulting in an independent Bavaria still reigned by the Wittelsbach family would probably have prevented a movement like the Nazis ever gaining widespread popular support; instead, the remaining German state, dominated by Prussia, would probably have been torn between autocratic conservatives and communists.
The late example would be 1938 - a short war in 1938 would have thoroughly flattened the Nazi regime and resulted in Germany turning into some conservative/autocratic/military dominated country, perhaps similar to Hungary.
Jorit
[quote="Werner"]Is it possible a Wilsonian peace would have thrown Germany and Austria into Lenin's sphere of influence?[/quote]
Could well be. We have to bear in mind that late in 1918 Germany was boiling with unrest. Revolution was not a distinct possibility, it was happening in the streets.
Whatever the conditions of the peace, the factors that mattered were thousands and thousands of soldiers and sailors coming home and vast amounts of weaponry available. Versailles put another twist into it and certainly made the situation even more difficult, but the troubles Germany was in in 1918/19 had little to do with the peace treaty.
[quote]I am frightened by the prospect that WW.II may have been the best possible outcome for the era.[/quote]
I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that - in fact, there are a number of turning points available, at which history could have taken another turn avoiding WW2 in Europe.
To take just two examples from German history, an early one and a late one - a breakup of Germany in 1918/19 resulting in an independent Bavaria still reigned by the Wittelsbach family would probably have prevented a movement like the Nazis ever gaining widespread popular support; instead, the remaining German state, dominated by Prussia, would probably have been torn between autocratic conservatives and communists.
The late example would be 1938 - a short war in 1938 would have thoroughly flattened the Nazi regime and resulted in Germany turning into some conservative/autocratic/military dominated country, perhaps similar to Hungary.
Jorit