Ovi Magazine Issue #26: WWI - 100 years - Published: 2014-07-28
2014 marked 100 years from the beginning of the World War I. A war that changed humanity for the best or the worst. 2014 marked 100 years from the beginning of the World War I. A war that changed humanity for the best or the worst.
Ihad always the feeling that the reason we commemorate moreoften the Second World War than the First, is not because itis more recent or because there are still alive memories; it isbecause we feel consciously more comfortable. Despite the inhumancrimes the lines between good and evil in WWII arediscreet and visual.From one side there were the Nazis and from the other side the restof the world. And this is another discreet line. We are talking aboutthe Nazis and not about the Germans. It just happened that the Naziswere Germans and the fascists were Italians. And it was the Nazisthat used the most inhuman methods to eliminate whole nations andthere were Germans with the victims.Furthermore in the case of the WWII, the evil has a face and a name.We know who to hate and we know who was responsible. Actuallyonly a reference to his name, Adolf Hitler, includes all the WWII, thegenocide crimes and the murder of millions. But even in his case weavoid the causes that created him for the simple reason that everythingstarted with the First World War.But when we are talking about WWI even though the two sides aresimilar, led by the Germans in the one side and Anglo-Americans inthe other, the lines between good and evil are not so discreet. Bothsides were as evil as good and both sides acted like murderers employingthe most nightmarish and inhuman methods to exterminatehuman lives.What today is unthinkable and in WWII a big no, the use of chemicaland biological weapons, during WWI was a common practice fromboth sides. It was not a war of imperialism but a war for exterminationand it was not about genocide but total death. The darkest sideof human nature was out there and for five years brought humanityto its knees.But here is the twist and the irony of history. Both sides used sciencemore than in any other conflict and that meant that science evalu-
editorialated so much in those five years to get to the point that it change lifeafter the war. Mechanics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, physics,all in the service of death created a new era for the future life. Even artchanged after the WWI.In five years the world changed. Kingdoms and empires disappearedwhile new nations surfaced. The end of the Ottoman Empire that occupiedform Saudi Arabia till Europe overnight and a new empire thatwould become the foe of the western capitalism, appeared in Russia.Colonization sees the beginning of its end and from Africa to Asiaand South America everything seems to change. In USA black soldiersconsidered expendable and used as the first wave to deal with thechemicals and in Africa automatic weapons and iron tanks fight arrowsand spears.The change reached even the global social structure. From an era wherethere was an aristocracy and a working class in many levels but alwayspoor, there is a new class rising. The middle class, the class of the civilservants and the small entrepreneurs. The land is changing hands andescapes from the ownership of the very few and the working classrealises that there are rights and power and not just pain and poverty.Despite the outcome and what happened later, the Russian revolutioninspires millions and changes attitude even in the highest parts of thearistocratic establishment. Nobody wants to live another Bastille.Still the First World War was the bloodiest and more inhuman war inhuman history, compared only with the Peloponnesian War (431-431BC). But it also had another consequence with global effect, the birthof Nazism and the rise of Hitler. Hitler was a creation and a by-productof the WWI and perhaps the WWII was nothing more than the continuationof the WWI with a small break.In this special issue of Ovi magazine, our aim is not to write abouthistory or talk about facts. We only try to remind, motivate to research,learn and understand what happened during those five years that changethe world as we knew it.Thanos Kalamidas
- Page 1: the e-magazine WWI / 20141914 - 201
- Page 4: “One day the great EuropeanWar wi
- Page 8: “No commander was ever privileged
- Page 14: “There is a price which is toogre
- Page 18 and 19: Dr. Anis H. BajrektarevicEurope of
- Page 20 and 21: Is the EU a post-Westphalian conglo
- Page 22 and 23: for containment of Central European
- Page 24 and 25: a contemporary Eastern Europe only
- Page 26 and 27: actually instrumentalized two sorts
- Page 28 and 29: In a nutshell, we can say that the
- Page 30 and 31: Europe took place irreversibly and
- Page 32 and 33: and its financial sovereignty (gone
- Page 34 and 35: reality. These days, this reality i
- Page 36 and 37: the ever smaller, incapacitated un-
- Page 38 and 39: for the US. The very epilogue of th
- Page 40 and 41: (with the exception of France) and
- Page 42 and 43: 7. Bruton, J. (2013), How real is t
- Page 44 and 45: The Causes of World War One
- Page 46 and 47: One Thing Led to AnotherSo then, we
- Page 48 and 49: First, he needed to engineer a cred
- Page 50 and 51: A Secret Franco-Italian AllianceIn
- Page 52 and 53: Agreements Set, The Occasional Mino
- Page 54 and 55: To this end the French devised a st
- Page 56 and 57: Prof. Emanuel L. PaparellaA Disastr
- Page 58 and 59: Were we to apply this philosophy to
editorial
ated so much in those five years to get to the point that it change life
after the war. Mechanics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, physics,
all in the service of death created a new era for the future life. Even art
changed after the WWI.
In five years the world changed. Kingdoms and empires disappeared
while new nations surfaced. The end of the Ottoman Empire that occupied
form Saudi Arabia till Europe overnight and a new empire that
would become the foe of the western capitalism, appeared in Russia.
Colonization sees the beginning of its end and from Africa to Asia
and South America everything seems to change. In USA black soldiers
considered expendable and used as the first wave to deal with the
chemicals and in Africa automatic weapons and iron tanks fight arrows
and spears.
The change reached even the global social structure. From an era where
there was an aristocracy and a working class in many levels but always
poor, there is a new class rising. The middle class, the class of the civil
servants and the small entrepreneurs. The land is changing hands and
escapes from the ownership of the very few and the working class
realises that there are rights and power and not just pain and poverty.
Despite the outcome and what happened later, the Russian revolution
inspires millions and changes attitude even in the highest parts of the
aristocratic establishment. Nobody wants to live another Bastille.
Still the First World War was the bloodiest and more inhuman war in
human history, compared only with the Peloponnesian War (431-431
BC). But it also had another consequence with global effect, the birth
of Nazism and the rise of Hitler. Hitler was a creation and a by-product
of the WWI and perhaps the WWII was nothing more than the continuation
of the WWI with a small break.
In this special issue of Ovi magazine, our aim is not to write about
history or talk about facts. We only try to remind, motivate to research,
learn and understand what happened during those five years that change
the world as we knew it.
Thanos Kalamidas
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