At a conference that preceded the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, former Minister of Foreign affairs Edvard Beneš reminisced as an assembly of all powerful people of the world. On one side stood the victorious states known as the Entente Powers, of which Czechoslovakia was a member. On the other stood the defeated Central Powers, led by Germany and its allies. The defeated powers found themselves at the mercy of the Entente, the only course of action available to them being to either accept or reject the terms presented.

On the 28th of June we commemorate the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which became the symbol of the end of the First World War and of a radical shift in the world order. By the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the political, economic and social position of Germany would be affected for a long time. One of the main points being, among other things, war reparations that Germany only paid off on June 3rd 2010.

What is the legacy of the Treaty of Versailles today? In which ways can it be an aspiration or warning to us?

Confirmed speakers:

H.E. Peter Weiss, Ambassador, Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Czech Republic,

Milena Hrdinková, State Secretary for European Affairs, The Office of the Government of the Czech Republic,

Jaroslav Šebek, Research employee of the Department of the 20th Century History , Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences,

Moderator: Ondřej Houska, reporter, Hospodářské noviny.

The debate will take place on June 16th 2019, at 5 PM in CERGE, Politických vězňů 7, Prague 1.