Hitler reads the Frenchman's letter and briefly considers it; yes, if war could be avoided, it would be wise. He would win such a war, of course, but negotiation never hurt. A response is sent:

"Very well; I will come to negotiate terms once again. I trust the French to keep the tradition of diplomatic immunity, and I will not be without security. However, I hope that we may reach an agreement. It would be tragic for the lives of more young German men to be lost."

A few days after this, preparations are made for the Führer's departure. Preparations are made in case the French are tricking Germany; the army is fully prepared for war and mustered in various locations, and plans are made for a continuation of government.

Adolf Hitler arrives in France in mid-May, escorted by several members of the SS and an unknown amount of security aside from them. He takes up residence in an unknown location somewhere in Paris to await the meeting; many expected Germany to send a diplomat, but as it turns out the Führer decided it would be appropriate to conduct negotiations first-hand. To the surprise of many Frenchmen who meet him, Hitler is charming and charismatic. He seems to express a large deal of admiration for the French people, and genuinely seems to want peace between the two nations. "Let no man be mistaken, however." He says to a local paper. "My love for the Fatherland is greater than any other."

To: Albert Lebrun

I have decided to send Galeazzo Ciano as a representative to your nation so that Italy's opinions will be considered. I am assured that you will be amiable toward him, as Ciano is not a warmongerer and will no doubt provide valuable input.

Benito Mussolini

20.5.1939

Albert Lebrun allowed himself a smile. The negotiating table is growing in size and influence. He grows more assured along with it, but his nervousness also grows. If the nations present cannot hash out a deal, it looks bad on the leader who called the meeting in the first place. However, the gam.ble* would be worth it if he could come out with a peace deal, almost assuring his reelection.

(*I'm sort of confused, because when I type gam.ble without the dot in it it appears as **** instead.
-->****)

He stands up at the table to address his audience:

"Fellow leaders, thank you for obliging my request to come to this conference. All of France's hospitality is open to you. If you need anything, please just ask. None of our countries want to go to war, especially with the reminder of the Great War still very much present in our minds. If we want to work out a deal, every party must be satisfied with what they are receiving as part of the deal. Therefore, a logical starting point would be with what each country here would like to see in the deal. Any volunteers?"

Hitler stands from the chair he had a seat in, taking his place at one head of the table.

His hands are on top of the Treaty of Versailles; he quietly looks down at it. His eyes are full of hate for that damned scrap of paper - If he could make it burn on the spot, he surely would. Finally, his eyes turn upward and he addresses the assembly gathered.

"We assembled here speak many tongues; as for me, I will speak German. May my words be translated if need be.

This treaty... Is illegitimate. Germany does not hold this treaty to be lawful; it is to be annulled at once. This treaty took Germany's pride away; it took our land away, and more than that - It took our -people- away. It ruined our economy for two decades. It is nonsense; this treaty was signed at gunpoint, and if we had not signed, millions of human beings would've been starved and killed until we had no choice. There is no legitimacy to be found here. None.

The Danzig Corridor, from Poland, is to be returned to Germany at once. Danzig is German, and always HAS been German. The German people are being persecuted by Poland as I speak - Atrocities are being dealt out to them, and they are treated as second-class by the Polish, who despise us. North Schleswig is to be given back to Germany from Denmark; it is not Denmark's, it is Germany. Germans live there, Hannoverians who speak our tongue. Eupen and Malmedy, those lands given to the Belgians, are to be returned. Finally, Alsace Lorraine, stripped from us after the Great War, is to be returned - The Rhine belongs to the Reich. It is expected that our overseas lands shall be returned as well.

These are my only requests regarding my land claims, and you cannot argue that they are not without just cause. I have asked for no land that Germany has not owned in the past; we are a people, and ALL Germans have the right to live in one nation - United. Can this be denied?

I am not one to use violence to obtain what I need for my people - But if I cannot get this done by peace, by careful negotiations that take into account the need of both sides, I will not have a choice.

Furthermore, the Civil War in Spain must be brought to a halt. Your intervention has brought more bloodshed and suffering to the Peninsula - The Spanish People need to be united under one government. A two-state solution cannot be considered."

After saying that which he has to say, the Leader looks around the room for a response.

"This bloodshed in Spain was not the goal of our intervention. We saw that it was necessary to intervene to protect the Republicans from the tyranny of the Nationalists. There is much divide between Eastern Spain and Western Spain, and we believe that life would be better for all the Spanish if the people were allowed to determine under what government they should live. I realize that our advance was sudden, but it was necessary to preserve the momentum created by the assassination attempt at Francisco Franco. Then, the Germans unexpectedly decided to intervene, holding the Republicans under a tyranny similar to that against which they spoke out so vehemently. We want the same thing as the Germans want with their regions in Spain; we want to relieve the control of one people over another. As for the lands the Germans want to reclaim, we support the effort to reunite the German people. However, France would like to point out the Alsace and Lorraine are historically French provinces and that the boundary between France and Germany has naturally been the Rhine River. These provinces have only been German through violence and only recently, from the Franco-Prussian war. Our national heroine, Jeanne d'Arc herself, was born and grew up in the Loraine region. Where these regions are concerned, the historical precedent is very important to us."

Lebrun walks over to join Hitler at the Treaty of Versailles.

"I agree with you, Hitler, on this point. This treaty was created on the basis of hatred and power inequality. The economic and territorial effects of this treaty were disastrous for the German people. However, the ideas behind some of the clauses were just. For example, demilitarization is very important for Europe, because increasing one's military only causes fear and aggression. In short, the "punishment" aspect of the treaty is unjust, but the peace-preservation clauses are important, especially now."

Joseph Stalin stood up.

"Mister Hitler," he said, "you and I have very similar thoughts about national unity, the return of one's people, and the strength of one's country.  But I firmly disagree with your slight against these brave sons of Republicanism.  As Marx so rightly predicted, the Left shall start to rise across the globe, bringing with it great change.  By tamping down revolution in Spain, you are leading to a greater incident later, perhaps not immediately, but 5 years, 10, bringing more suffering to the Spanish people.  Surely as a member of a Socialist party you understand."

He paused to drink before moving on, "As for returning land and people, we are all aware of the plight of displacement.  However, yours is not the only country changed, yours the only people separated.  We hold that if the German people are to be reunited, people displaced and land snatched by the Great War, regardless of whose, should be returned."

He sits down.

Ciano slowly nods his assent. “If we all seek peace as we claim, I see no reason that any of the leaders gathered here should oppose this proposition. Spain can surely work out its problems without foreign aid, and fewer lives will be lost."

Germany was the main country punished in the Great War - Unless I am missing something.

Lebrun chuckles slightly at Hitler. "Technically, Austria-Hungary suffered the most because it doesn't exist anymore, but it was somewhat of a cobbled together kingdom in the first place. But in all seriousness, I do agree with you; although Germany was the backbone of the Central Powers and was antagonistic during the Great War, it and its people didn't deserve to suffer as much as they did. I wholeheartedly agree to your proposition concerning the Alsace-Loraine province. We would love to fund a cooperative agency to bring Germans back to their home region, if they so choose. The Rhine serves as a great natural border between our countries. Although France cannot directly give you back historically German lands, we can give you our blessing for the move. However, as we are doing with our reclaimed region, we do encourage you to allow any people who identify as Polish, Danish, etc. to return to their home country if they want.

"Concerning Spain, however, we prefer to use the same principle as we are using with this deal. Obviously, due to the tension and conflict in Spain, the Republicans at least deserve their own sovereign nation so that they may act independently and have their own government to represent them. France cannot an will not speak for the ideology of either side in the conflict, but because there is conflict, we must intervene to avoid bloodshed. That was the original goal of our fortification of the Republicans, but more bloodshed was caused when you invaded the Republican area, repressing them. With all due respect, you aggravated the conflict.

"As your colonies are concerned, I can speak less than I can on your land in Europe. Other Allied Powers along with France have taken your colonies in Africa and Asia. We would need to have a quorum of all these nations to decide how to deal with these lands. Even if only France were to give back the colonies it has taken from you, it would directly violate Article 119 of the treaty, which forbids those lands from being returned to you. Also, France has a large presence in Western Africa and would like to continue this protectorate and possibly also increase its holdings. However, you have our cooperation on this subject."