Versailles 1919 | 2019

On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The first of the Paris Peace Conference Treaties, it ended the state of war between the Allies and Germany and established the League of Nations.

To give this Centennial anniversary the commemoration it deserved, the Versailles 1919–2019 Steering Committee, along with Catherine Pégard, the President of the Palace of Versailles, planned a three-part observance at Versailles on June 28, 2019, one hundred years to the day of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. All net proceeds from the commemoration will be used for the construction of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the restoration of the Queen’s Grove at the Palace of Versailles, an enduring symbol of Franco-American friendship.

The Symposium

MODERN FOUNDATIONS: THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND AMERICAN PHILANTHROPY
A WWI CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM AT THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES — JUNE 28, 2019

A century ago, public officials and private citizens endeavored to recover and advance after the devastation of global war. Leaders of the victorious powers in World War I aspired to convert battlefield success into enduring peace. Although they failed more than they succeeded, the present world is a direct legacy of their efforts. On the centennial of its signing, explore the Treaty’s origins and outcomes, and the foundation of philanthropic movements today.

JOHN MAXWELL HAMILTON (Moderator), a long-time journalist, author and public servant, is the Hopkins P. Breazeale Professor in Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication, a global scholar at the Wilson Center, and a senior associate at the Center of Strategic and International Studies. His most recent book, Journalism’s Roving Eye: A History of American Foreign Reporting, won the Goldsmith Prize. He is currently finishing a history of American propaganda in the Great War.

JULIA IRWIN (American Humanitarianism as Philanthropy in France and WWI) is an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair of History at University of South Florida where she focuses on the place of humanitarian aid in U.S. foreign relations and international history. Her most recent works include Making the World Safe: The American Red Cross and A Nation's Humanitarian Awakening and the forthcoming Catastrophic Diplomacy: A History of U.S. Responses to Global Natural Disaster.

EREZ MANELA (Legacies of the Treaty) is a Professor of History at Harvard University, where he teaches international history and the history of the United States in the world. He is co-editor of the Global and International History series for Cambridge University Press. His books include The Wilsonian Moment: Self-Determination and the International Origins of Anticolonial Nationalism and Empires at War, 1911-23.

MICHAEL S. NEIBERG (Versailles Treaty and its Development) is Professor of History and Chair of War Studies at the United States Army War College. His publications specialize on the First and Second World Wars in global context. His works include Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I, named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five best books ever written about that war and The Treaty of Versailles: A Concise History. In 2018 he was awarded the Médaille d'Or du Rayonnement Culturel.

OLIVIER ZUNZ (American Philanthropy and WWI) is the James Madison Professor of History at the University of Virginia and a social historian internationally recognized expert on the life and work of Alexis de Tocqueville. Named an Officier of the French Ordre National du Mérite, he is the author of Philanthropy in America: A History the first book to explore in depth the 20th century growth of this unique phenomenon.

This WWI Centennial Commemorative event was made possible through the presenting sponsorship of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library. The symposium is provided by the United States World War One Centennial Commission, the Palace of Versailles and the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

The Dinner

AN EVENING AT VERSAILLES
FRIDAY, THE 28th OF JUNE, 2019 — by invitation only

June 28, 2019, marks the Centennial Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, a Treaty that would change the course of the Twentieth century. The Palace of Versailles joins the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, Plastic Omnium, the National WWI Museum and Memorial, and the World War One Centennial Commission to commemorate this monumental event with a day-long Symposium, Digital Exhibition, and an invitation-only Black-tie Evening at Versailles, envisioned by Alex Hitz. It includes a Tour of the Royal Apartments and the Hall of Mirrors, a Cocktail Reception, Dinner, Toast to Peace, and Award Presentation.

The inaugural “Versailles Award for American Philanthropy” will be presented to David Rockefeller, Jr., to recognize the momentous contributions his grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., made to rebuild France after WWI, including the restoration of the Palace of Versailles, itself. The generosity of American soldiers, ordinary citizens, and titans of industry, bundled together, are what are now referred to as “American Philanthropy,” the endeavors instrumental in rebuilding the regions of the Western Front devastated by the War. This philanthropy was essential to Europe’s recovery from the drastic ravages of the War.

The net proceeds from this Centennial Commemoration will help to construct a National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. This monument will honor the 4,700,000 Americans who served in the Great War, including the more than 2,000,000 Americans in France, Belgium, and Italy on November 11, 1918, more than 320,000 of whom were wounded or killed. The Palace of Versailles will also use some of the funds for the restoration of The Queen's Grove, a garden planted in 1775 with indigenous American horticulture, and an enduring symbol of Franco-American friendship. See an exclusive first look of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.