So we have all heard about the Cold War and World War II right?

Something that’s interesting about both of these events is that they can all be traced back to the establishment of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 during the Paris Peace Conference.

For example, Hitler only rose to prominence in Germany during the early 1930s because of discontent caused by the Treaty of Versailles leaving Germany destitute economically and socially. Almost 10 years later, Europe was plunged into war that left it reeling with death and destruction.

During the years of the Cold War the USSR was able to take advantage of countries like Poland and Hungary because the Treaty of Versailles had left those countries without stable governments. World War 2 exacerbated these issues and eventually in the late 1940s and early 1950s the Soviet Union was able to leverage these issues and expand their sphere of influence.

As a person with a keen interest in history I look at all of this and it makes me think about the significance of a singular event - and how it can change the course of history.