VERSAILLES, France, June 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday brought remembrance, commemoration, and education to Versailles, France, as historical organizations honored the 100th Anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles. The first of the Paris Peace Treaties, the Treaty of Versailles officially, effectively, ended World War I.
Presenting sponsor, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, worked with the National WWI Museum and Memorial, National History Day, and with the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission to create a series of activities that were hosted by the legendary Palace of Versailles, where the Treaty was signed a century ago.
There were several parts to the commemoration, including a day-long educational symposium, the rollout of a special online digital exhibition, a wreath remembrance ceremony, and a fundraising reception to benefit the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The education symposium brought together major World War I historians, and students from universities in France and the United States, and gave them an opportunity to discuss and explore the long term impacts from the Treaty. A video version of the symposium will be available for free, online, at the Centennial Commission website www.WW1CC.org.
The online historical exhibition, titled, "The Rise of Giving: American Philanthropy and World War I," highlights the extraordinary achievements of American volunteers and philanthropists during and after World War I in Europe. It is also free, and can be found on the website of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, at https://www.theworldwar.org
The wreath remembrance ceremony was carried out by the students of the educational symposium, and took place at the City of Versailles recently-renovated Monument to Lafayette and General Pershing, who was commander of the American military forces in World War I.
The fundraiser reception marked the Treaty's centennial, and included fireworks, and the presentation of the inaugural Versailles Award for American Philanthropy, presented to Davi Rockefeller, Jr. by Catherine Pegard, the President of the Palace of Versailles, in recognition of the contributions his grandfather, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. made to rebuild France after World War I, including the restoration of the Palace of Versailles, itself.
Proceeds from the fundraiser reception will benefit the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. This new national-level memorial will honor the 4.7 million Americans who served in the war 100 years ago, and the 116,516 of those men and women who gave their lives.
Also, a contribution from the fundraiser will be made in the name of American-French unity, specifically to the restoration of the Queen's Grove in Versailles, a garden planted at the Palace of Versailles in 1775 with indigenous American horticulture -- an enduring symbol of the three centuries of French-American alliance, that started at Versailles during the American War of Independence.
Information on the Pritzker Military Museum & Library can be found here:
www.pritzkermilitary.org
Information on the National WWI Museum and Memorial can be found here:
www.theworldwar.org
Information on National History Day can be found here:
www.NHD.org
Information on the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission -- and on the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C, including new high-resolution imagery -- can be found here: www.WW1CC.org
Information on the Palace of Versailles can be found here:
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/
SOURCE U.S. World War I Centennial Commission
https://www.worldwar1centennial.org
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