History was the honored guest at the London conference. In stately Lancaster House, where Chopin once played mazurkas for Queen Victoria, the accolade of sovereignty was restored, in all but name, to defeated West Germany. Britain dramatically abandoned a centuries-old tradition of "splendid isolation" from the Continent. The U.S. firmly offered to keep an American army in Europe so long as Europe is threatened. Both offers were made to reassure France, finicky with ancient fears which history was rendering obsolete. France responded by agreeing to Germany's rearmament and admission into the...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
