Writing in The New York Times earlier this month, Paul Schroeter, an emeritus professor of history, argued that open diplomacy is often “fatally flawed,” and gave as an example the need for secret negotiations to reach agreement on the Treaty of Versailles. Since the Treaty bears substantial responsibility for the resurrection of German nationalism that led to the rise of Hitler and World War II, it has a fair claim to being the most disastrous peace treaty in human history.
虽然威尔逊无法使凡尔赛条约完整地反映他的“十四点计划”，但其中也包含他的几个提议，其中之一就是成立“国联”，事实上，国联就是今日联合国的前身。但威尔逊未能使美国参议院批准凡尔赛条约，国际联盟公约也就没有得到批准。