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Well at twelve minutes past three today the Versaille Treaty was signed formally bringing an end to WWI and the senseless loss of life.
Nobody could have guessed that it would lead to WWII....

I was reading in the "History Channel" website that the English economist (Keyes ) predicted that the harshness of the French demands for vindictive reparations would lead to a general "collapse" of the European economy with worldwide repercussions, including the rise of revolution, etc.  Could it be that he predicted the coming worldwide depression?

Not for America.  The US never ratified the treaty.

Only 'cos you lot turned up late Jim
I thought the Chinese were the only ones who didn't ratify it?

The US wanted to ease off the demands for the Reich, but the Brits and Frenchmen didn't permit an american involvement, since they thought that it was only their business.

-edit: Oz, it's Versailles.

The US wanted to ease off the demands for the Reich, but the Brits and Frenchmen didn't permit an american involvement, since they thought that it was only their business.

According to some sources, the Brits wanted to ease off, but the French premier wanted to do to the Germans what the Germans did to them in 1870, plus he considered Wilson a "hick" (not quite in those terms, but, close enough)

The reasons for the American idea of 'easing off' was because they felt that the best way to prevent another war would be help Germany re-bulid. The French ( and the British, to an extent) had seen far more direct effects of the war, with there own country being invaded, food problems, and a far higher death count. Because of this the French felt great bitterness towards the Germans, and though the French had the same objective as the US they went about it through different means. Their idea was to crush the Germans, so they would not have the economic or military power to be able to start another war.