Impact on Human Society World War 1

Question: Does the effect of the World War 1 have a lasting impact on human society? Answer: As a result of World War I more than 9 million soldiers, sailors and airmen were killed and in the same way, another 5 million civilians were also killed. In this war, more than 20 countries were involved and it cost $186 billion in direct costs and $151 billion as in direct costs which was more than any other war in the history of mankind (Waldinger, 2011). World War I was the first one in which tanks, airplanes, long-range artillery, submarines and poison gas was used. As a result of this war, more than 7 million persons were left permanently disabled. It can be said that perhaps World War I had more far-reaching consequences as compared to any other bar that has taken place in the history of mankind. In political terms, as a result of World War I, four monarchies saw their downfall, which happened in ratio in 1917, in Austria-Hungary and in 1918 in Germany and in 1922, there was a fall of the monarchy in Turkey. The World War I also contributed to the rise to power of the Bolshevik in Russia in 1917 and similarly it resulted in the triumph of fascism in Italy (Neugebauer, Wejbrand and Ezra, 1999.). As a result of this War, several colonial revolts were ignited in the Middle East and also in Southeast Asia. In economic terms, due to the World War I, the European economy was severely disrupted and consequently, United States got a chance to become the leading creditor and industrial power of the world. World War I also had significant social consequences which included the mass murder of Armenians in Turkey and also the occurring of an influenza epidemic due to which more than 35 million vehicles were killed throughout the world. There are only a few events that can better reveal the complete unpredictability of the future than World War I. At the beginning of the 20th century, most of the people in Europe were looking forward to a future filled with peace and prosperity (Mazzonna, 2011). A major war has not been fought in Europe for the last 100 years. However the belief in human progress has been shattered as a result of this war as there were only a few who expected or wanted this war. The outbreak of this war could have been averted at any point during the five weeks of preceding the war. It also needs to be mentioned that World War I took place as a result of misunderstanding, miscalculation and miscommunication (Hendrik. 2011). Before the war took place, no person could have expected the duration of the magnitude of World War I. In the beginning, the armies of different countries were relying on outdated methods of communication like carrying pigeons. More than 1 million horses were mobilized by the warring nations. However by the time this war was over, tanks, machine guns, submarines, poison gas and airplane dropped bombs had changed the nature of the modern warfare. For example in 1918, Germany fired shells which contained both teargas and lethal chlorine. When the British soldiers were forced to take off their gas masks due to the teargas, their faces were scarred by chlorine and they were killed (Ichino and Winter-Ebmer, 2004). However, it needs to be mentioned that although the effect of World War I was devastating but it had also resulted in many new developments taking place in the field of medicine, politics, warfare and social attitudes. As a result of World War I, the nature of modern warfare has been changed forever. Technology became an integral part of the art of war and an important role was being played by tanks, airplanes and submarines. The techniques of mass production that were developed during the war in order to build the armaments for the warring nations also revolutionized the other industries after the Great War (Gimbel, 1968). The first use of chemical weapons by the Germans in 1915 at Ypres can be compared with a recent situation, when nearly after one century; the international community is seeking the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons by President Assad of Syria on their own people. It was also ironic that became adopted the principle of universal military service without ad opting the principle of universal adult male suffrage. In this way, it cannot be denied that World War I had a lasting impact on human society. References Gimbel. J. (1968) The American occupation of Germany: politics and the military, 1945-1949, Stanford University Press Ichino, A. and Winter-Ebmer R. (2004) The Long- Run Educational Cost of World War Journal of Labor Economics, 22(1), pp. 57-87 Jrges, H. (2011) Collateral damage: Educational attainment and labor market outcomes among German war and post-war cohorts. Unpublished manuscript. Mazzonna, F. (2011) The Long-Lasting Effects of Family Background: A European Cross-Country Comparison. MEA working paper Neugebauer R., Wejbrand Hoek, H. and Susser, E. S. (1999) Prenatal exposure to wartime famine and development of antisocial personality disorder in early adulthood, JAMA 282:45562 Waldinger, F. (2011) Bombs, Brains, and Science, The Role Human and Physical Capital for the Creation of Scientific Knowledge