Have you ever thought about living in a particular era in history? I would have loved to live in the 1850s, the start of the industrial revolution. It would have been so nice to see the world change in such a short time.
What about a time that I wouldn't have liked to live in? Well, I would not have liked to live in Europe during World War I. 37 million men died. These men were husbands to a woman, fathers to children, and sons to parents. The bloody battles went to the extreme. History says that after some battles or after using weapons of mass killing, the human bodies (soldiers and civilians) were thrown into large common pits along with animals and beasts.
Many would say that the cause of this war was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife. It was the spark that led to more events that ended up in one of the worst wars in human history to the point that it is still called The Great War because there has not been anything like that. I have heard old documentaries of people that lived through those times that said, "We thought that it would never end."
Did that war start because of the assassination of the Austrian royals? I am no history expert, but I do know that right before these times countries were forming alliances with each other. It all goes back to 1871 as conflict continues between the French and the Germans.
Each member of the alliance had its own vision for the power, and there came a point that more countries united with each other and formed greater alliances to the point that in 1914, the European continent was quite divided.
On June 18th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated. Austria-Hungary (the German bloc) retaliated and war started that lasted 4 years. By the year 1915, the war had spread all over the world, and troops were being sent to the war front.
The assassination was not the cause, but it was definitely the trigger.
What was the cause then? The ambition for power. It's in human nature. The French want more, the Germans want more, here comes the Russians, and the British, and so on. It turns out that the Germans who started the war ended up humiliated and in much debt.
History tells us that in 1939 Germany, being ruled by the Nazis, strikes back again. History tells us that Germany lost and had to surrender to the allies in 1945.
We can all point fingers at the Germans and say, "Why didn't you learn anything? Why do it again so you could lose again? "Sadly, this is the story not just about the Germans, but all mankind. Humans don't learn from history.
Why do you think that Einstein said,
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
(To be continued...)
Please think about it. Do you agree or disagree? Please comment below.