The world had been in turmoil, an arms race escalating between Germany and Great Britain. Worry of an aggressor was amidst the feelings of the time, which can be seen in writings from then including Erskine Childers, The Riddles of the Sands (1903).
Worries soon became realities in August 1914 when the entire world went to war. Now known as the Great War, it had been envisioned as being over quickly. It would begin and end with relatively little conflict and few people affected. Looking back this was far from the case.
The beginning of the war often points to the "Balkan Powder Keg," which refers to imperial and national tensions in the Balkans. Gavrilo Princip with the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist group, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.
Though this appeared to be the spark igniting the conflict, it was in fact the fuse of long burning strife reaching its end. Conflict amongst countries had been evident since 1867 and the conclusion of the Austro-Prussian War and the Luxembourg Crisis between the French Empire and Prussia.
Monday, Aug. 4, marked the 100th year since the beginning of World War I. Ultimately 100 years since huge changes developed throughout the world socially, economically, and nationally.
Women gained the right to vote during the war in many countries. This is considered to be linked to the rising "masculine" jobs being held by women as many men were off at war.
Other legacies include the development of blood banks. Between the realization sodium citrate would prevent clotting and refrigeration, medics learned how to preserve blood and although the transfusions were not overly successful further research would make it plausible.
It was also the conclusion of the war when Britain supported the creation of a "national home" for Jewish people, which is where the legacy of Israel is rooted in. Though Israel wasn't officially created until after World War II, it was following World War I that the building blocks were laid following the break up of the Ottoman Empire.
This is contradictory in the sense that World War I was to be the war to end all wars and the Middle East has since continued to be a source of contention and strife.
Having studied history in university I always found it odd how following both world wars, countries were created seemingly at random. Borders were drawn and redrawn actually leading to conflict resonating 100 years later as the Middle East continues to fight.
Overall the Great War set the stage for world change as the Bolsheviks took power in Russia and communism developed, how women's roles began to change, and the technologies created.
Technologies including sanitary towels used for dressing wounds but used by nurses for its current use, paper tissues (Kleenex), sun lamps for those suffering from rickets in Berlin, the popularity of the wrist watch over pocket watches, stainless steel through somewhat of an accident by Harry Brearley, as well as the advanced development of radio technology to eliminate the need for wires as they would be cut by the enemy and pilots were unable to communicate between planes.
Legacies of World War I over the past 100 years comes with both positive and negative results, but ultimately it is part of our history and we should remember its impacts on today because, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana.
Why else would Hitler invade Russia in the winter as he should have learned from Napoleon's demise.
