The Great War of 1914-18 left a shattered Europe and a changed world. Despite a widespread longing for peace and for a new international order, the world was to have a second catastrophic war 20 years later. The peacemakers of 1919 are often blamed for creating the conditions which sent some European nations down the road towards dictatorship and led Europe and the world towards the Second World War.

This public lecture will ask why moving from war to peace can be so difficult and examine the particular challenges faced by the peacemakers in 1919. It will ask whether the accepted view, that the peace settlements made then doomed Europe and the world to another war, is a fair one. It will also suggest ways we might learn from the past as we face a turbulent and uncertain present.

Margaret MacMillan is Professor of History at the University of Toronto and Emeritus Professor of the University of Oxford.

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Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEMakingPeace

This event forms part of the “Shape the World” series, held in the run up to the LSE Festival, a week-long series of events taking place from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 March 2020, free to attend and open to all, exploring how social sciences can make the world a better place. The full programme will be available online from January 2020.

Podcast

A podcast of this event is available to download from Ending Wars and Making Peace: the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 re-examined.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.