Among the many moving images from last weekend’s ceremonies marking the centenary of the end of the first world war was that of Frank-Walter Steinmeier laying a poppy wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. It was the first time a German head of state had taken part in the annual commemoration and was a touching act of reconciliation, complementing the poignant embrace between Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel in Compiègne, where the Armistice was signed.

In Germany the centenary was accompanied by a number of other November anniversaries. As well as the end of hostilities on the western front in 1918, there are the series of events that fall on November 9 and toll through German history: the fall of the monarchy in 1918; the Kristallnacht attacks on the Jewish population in 1938; the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It has made for an emotionally weighty few weeks.

Amid all the predictably solemn reflection, what has been noticeable in some of the German commentary are reflections on what could have been, on opportunities missed. November 1918 may have brought military defeat, but it also brought hopes of change. As the old order was swept away, the chance to reshape the country and society emerged. To the left it was a moment to seize power and add Germany to the list of newly minted communist states. For others it was the moment to forge a democratic republic. The argument was settled by force with the latter triumphing over the former — but at a cost: violent extremism would blight and ultimately overcome what became known as the Weimar Republic.