Recently, standing in front of it, I was amused that the explanations
in German call this building a "Lustschloss" ("Schloss"
meaning
"palace"). It has been built in 1687, in the park of the Château
de Versailles, by Louis XIV for his mistress, M-me de Maintenon;
so there is no need for me to explain the first part of the German term.
While here, in 1919, Hungary - a one thousand years old European Christian
country - was torn savagely apart, like a loaf of bread,
two thirds of its territory and population being thrown to its greedy
neighbors, in Paris the frivolous mood continued:
"At the beginning of March the Rumanian delegation received a reinforcement
when Queen Marie, [...] arrived on the royal train.
[...] she was lovely, vivacious and adulterous. Her new subjects found
this endearing. Her lovers included..."*
Margaret MacMillan doesn't mention the large group of young ladies Queen
Marie has brought with her from Bucharest
to this Peace Conference held by male politicians, and I do not want
to elaborate on it.
There is a word in Triebswetter for what was going on here, but we do
not want to hear it either, do we?
Anyway, this is just one aspect of how my folk's way to perdition has
been prepared - and most history books choose to ignore it.
But it has been
done with style.