At the end of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles' War Guilt Clause held Germany wholly and solely responsible for the war. (I personally think that alone was wrong. But that's not my point today.) As a result, Germany racked up an incomprehensible amount of debt. In fact, they just finished paying it off last October. The negotiators of the treaty (a group which, of course, did not involve Germany) painstakingly determined the value Germany owed for the damage done, going so far as to demand retribution for each individual fatality.
They put a price point on a human life.
These values were determined by the amount of revenue each represented country brought to the world economy. Therefore, an American life cost Germany more than any other nationality.
When we heard that in history class over a week ago, it really rattled me. I've been trying to figure out how to word this post since then, and I still don't think I'm doing it right. There just kind of aren't words for me. I tried to look the values up on Google and I couldn't find them. I'm not sure I want to know. How much is a life worth? A thousand dollars? Ten thousand? Fifty thousand?
By demanding this retribution the negotiators managed to cheapen a human life. Because the whole idea of debt is that once it's paid off, it's okay. The deal's done. Almost like they thought you could buy another person for the price of the old one. But it's even worse than that. They weren't concerned with the person. They were concerned with his work, his money. And a job can easily be refilled. A revenue spot in society can be replaced.
Did they really have the audacity to say that an American life was worth more than an Italian life? Than a British life?
I don't know. I want to say something floweringly profound, but I don't have anything. All I can say is... I would hope that if I were to get shot, no one would be able to pay my friends or family a sum of money to make it okay.
What's your life worth?
<3
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