The Conference of Versailles and the Potsdam Conference

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The Conference of Versailles (1919) and the Potsdam Conference (1945): a comparison
Introduction
The process of peacemaking gained much impetus in the 20th century following escalating conflicts that led to WWI and WWII. As such, the peace conferences of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and the 1945 Potsdam Conference are important to understand the changing dynamics of international relations. These Conferences defined an era where peacemaking was associated with creation of new international orders following inter-state wars. The peace conferences established gains and losses resulting from war, legitimized war outcomes and reaffirmed the international norms and conventions (Wennman 3). Nonetheless, the agreements associated with the conferences merely represented the short-term views of peace from the victors’ point of view and not dissuasion from using armed forces to bring long-term peace. This is a comparison essay between the Conference of Versailles (1919) and the Potsdam Conference (1945).
Conference mandate
The Conference of Versailles was signed during the WWI period, whereby Germany agreed to accept responsibility for the war escalation. This conference was an attempt to end the War and bring peace especially into Europe. Although the parties did not get all they wanted in the Conference there was agreement on the need to halt any more war efforts. Consequently, Germany suffered the loss of some of their territories while their armed forces were disbanded and they were to pay for reparations. Even though the Conference set the terms for the end of the Great War, France, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States dominated proceedings.
Germany’s surrender and the subsequent occupation by the allied forces meant that the countries had to decide the fate of Germany after WWII. The Potsdam Conference was convened to reach agreement on how to deal with Germany. Even though, the general consensus was to have the country remain united, there was division into different territories under the allied forces. The setting up of borderlines to define Germany’s border with the Poland and territories under the Soviet Union were similar to efforts in the Conference of Versailles. As such, in both cases, Germany lost out territories under the peacemaking agreements especially under the Conference of Versailles (Magana). In the 1919 Conference the country lost land to France, Poland, Belgium, Denmark and Czechoslovakia.
Potsdam Conference (1945) also had similarities with the Conference of Versailles, since there was a need to determine the question of Germany and bring peaceful coexistence among European countries. As such, it was necessary for the Conference meeting to lay out the policy to be adopted for the countries affected. Equally, the major players in the global political scene dictated the terms of agreements associated with the conference, Britain, the U.S and the Soviet Union the negotiated terms for the end of WWI, and conference continued discussion form the Yalta Conference which happened in the same year (U.S. Department of State).
German, reparations and the conferences
The Conference of Versailles further highlighted on the need to create th...