In honor of Memorial Day, we’re looking back at World War 1, the Great War. It’s been a century since the world powers gathered in Paris to hammer out terms for peace. No Germans were present. In fact, they were not invited to participate in the deliberations. But their worst fears were realized in the punishing terms of the treaty: Germany would pay dearly for its role in the war.

There was great expectation that this would be the War to End all Wars. But the Treaty of Versailles came to be known as the peace to end all peace. This treaty forged a new global order of alliances that attempted to guard against a repeat of such a catastrophic war. But the treaty failed, and some believe exacerbated the grievances, laying the groundwork for an even deadlier, second world war. This episode, we look at the circumstances that led to the Great War, and how those circumstances are similar to today.