I’d say the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century was the collapse of Imperial Germany. The nation was modern, tolerant, and well-run. The monarch had power, but not absolute power.
Sure, Imperial Germany had, well, imperial ambitions. But so did every nation at the time, including the United States.
Agree!
Also, in some ways more “democratic” than even the UK.
I would agree with you on this. World War One was a disaster all the way around but in particular the end of Imperial Germany via the Versailles Treaty directly led to World War Two and the subsequent forty-five year long enslavement of Eastern Europe by Russia.
Robert Massey called WW1 a ‘family squabble’ since all the royal families were related. And he was right.
Imperial Germany facilitated Lenin’s rise in Russia.