The year 1919 was chosen as the year of

  • the collapse of the Habsburg and German empires
  • the re-drawing of the map of Europe at the Paris Peace Conference
  • the influence of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
  • the growing demands for self-determination by even the smallest nations
  • the growing involvement of the USA in European politics and trade
  • and the seeds sown for World War Two
     

Sèvres Conference, 1-3 December 2005

The fifth and final conference for the project the European Dimension in History Teaching, on “The Events and Developments of 1919” was held at the Centre international d’études pédagogiques (CIEP) in Sèvres, France on 1-3 December, 2005.

The conference was jointly organised by the Council of Europe, the French Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Presentations were made not only on the impact on different countries and regions of Europe of the Great War and the subsequent peace treaties but also on how the social, economic and political consequences shaped developments in Europe throughout the 20th century.
 

Presentations made at the Sèvres conference

  • “The political, social and economic impact of the Great War on France”, by Professor Jean-Jacques Becker, ‘Historial de la Grande Guerre’, Péronne, France;
  • “The political, social and economic impact of the Great War on Germany”, by Professor Gerd Krumeich, University of Düsseldorf, Germany;
  • “Images of Defeat: Hungary after the Lost War, the Revolutions and the Peace Treaty of Trianon”, by Dr Peter Bihari, Budapest, Hungary;
  • “From Balance of Power to Collective Security? The League of Nations and International Diplomacy”, by Professor Alan Sharp, University of Ulster, Coleraine, United Kingdom;
  • “Yugoslavs at the Paris Peace Conference and the Legacy of WWI” by Dr Tvrtko Jakovina, University of Zagreb, Croatia;
  • “The political, social and economic impact of the Great War and of the Treaty of Neuilly on Bulgaria», by Professor Ivan Ilchev, University of Sofia, Bulgaria;
  • “The immediate and longer-term repercussions of the peace settlement for Turkey: from the Empire to a Republic”, by Professeor Halil Berktay, University of Sabanci, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • “Images of Women 1914 to 1920: The Ideals and the Realities”, by Ms Ruth Tudor, Gwent, United Kingdom
  • “The changing balance: Europe and the rest of the world”, by Professor Odd Arne Westad, London, United Kingdom
  • “The map: a scientific document? An example of anthropological maps used in 1919 at the Peace Conference”, by Ms Anne David, Montpellier, France
  • “The Great War: a cultural break-up?”, Professor Dimitri Vezyroglou, Paris, France