First World War in the context of Europe

The First World War was fought between the years of 1914 to 1918. The war included almost all the countries of the world and as such, had deep negative impacts on the economy of the various nation states. It also changed the political structuring of the various countries of the world. This essay seeks to discuss the importance of two articles relating to the consequences of the First World War on the nation states of Europe and her people.

Running head: FIRST WORLD WAR IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPE
First World War in the context of Europe
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1FIRST WORLD WAR IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPE
The First World War was fought between the years of 1914 to 1918. The war included
almost all the countries of the world and as such, had deep negative impacts on the economy of
the various nation states. It also changed the political structuring of the various countries of the
world. This essay seeks to discuss the importance of two articles relating to the consequences of
the First World War on the nation states of Europe and her people.
In the article titled “Protest and Mutiny Confront Mass Slaughter: Europeans in World
War I” the author Pelz (2016) is of the opinion that the war caused an aggressive expansion
within the context of Germany. According to the author, the popularity of the war was very less,
even negligible within the people of Europe. They wanted peace to be imposed in the region and
after the end of the war, a certain sense of jubilation could be observed among the people all
around the world, but specifically in the region of Europe. In the year, 1914, the French socialists
was observed to make a comment that “they would use every means at their disposal, including
the general strike to prevent a European War”1. From this statement it could be seen that the
people were absolutely against the idea of any more war. This topic is important to the historians
and those who are interested in the field of history to understand the aspect of war and the
various severe consequences of such wars on humanity and the world. Moreover, the article
clearly states the feelings of the public which is observed to be hostile in nature to the very idea
of war. People are against any form of commotion or anything which can be against the aspect of
peace and harmony in the world.
1 Pelz, William. Protest and Mutiny Confront Mass Slaughter: Europeans in World War I. Pluto Press (2016) pp
103-114.

2FIRST WORLD WAR IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPE
The article was written by William Pelz in the year 20162. William Pelz was the Director
in the Institute of Working Class History in Chicago and was also a professor of History at Elgin
Community College. He is a world renowned historian of having to a firm understanding of the
historical events of the past. His take on the First World War with regards to the underlying
nature of the war and the adverse impact of it can therefore be taken to be true in nature.
The article was written in the year 2016. This is significant as it was written nearly a
decade later after the occurrence of the First World War. The First World War was fought
between the years 1914 and 1918. It was in the year 1916 that the war reached its height when
the British army was heavily defeated and the number if dead soldiers reached eighteen thousand
and eight hundred, alone from Britain. Britain was considered to be the leading power of the
world during that time and such a blow to this nation severely impacted the morale of the other
powers who were fighting alongside Britain.
The historical significance of the document is that the author talked about the horrors of
the war. The situation of the war in Europe completely destroyed the economy in the region and
also had a deep impact on the political structuring of the countries3.
The second article titled “The European Dream: The Frontier in European History”,
written by the author, Mariatesa (2015) talks about the significant role played by the countries of
the Europe in the First World War. The people of the nation states of Europe were desperate for
the installation of peace and harmony within the region of Europe during the course of the world.
The article discusses of the “European Dream” which is much similar in lines to “American
2 Pelz, William. Protest and Mutiny Confront Mass Slaughter: Europeans in World War I. Pluto Press (2016) pp
103-114.
3 Pelz, William. Protest and Mutiny Confront Mass Slaughter: Europeans in World War I. Pluto Press (2016) pp
103-114.

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Dream”. It was the frontier of Europe which gave shape to its dream. Frontier refers to a kid of
boundary such as the Great Wall of China that protects the country from outside invasion. In the
similar manner, the continent of Europe created a defense frontier for itself during the war time
so that its losses would be minimized.
The article has been written by Gammone Mariatesa who is a faculty member at the
University of L'Aquila. She is a researcher in the University and is well versed in the subjects of
sociology and political science. Her position in the academic field gives credibility to the
document written by her and it can be said with confidence that the article written by her has the
correct facts and information imbibed within it.
The article was written in the year 2015. This year is significant as it marks the
completion of the nearly one decade of the starting of the First World War. The War was fought
between the years of 1914 and 1918 and Gammone Mariatesa wanted to capture the feeling of
the people of the world during that time4. The significance of the document lies in the fact that it
was in 1915 that the German army used poisonous gases and aerial attacks on the enemy forces.
As a result, the frontier established by the allies of Britain did not have much of an impact on the
battle.
The document is significant as it underlined the importance of the European frontiers. It
was during the times of the First World War that the European identity gradually started to take
shape and be concretized5. Moreover, the author is of the idea that it is the peripheral states of the
European continent who has prevented the collapse of the Europe as a continent. The nation
4 Gammone, Mariateresa. "The European dream. The frontier in European history." Politeja-Pismo Wydziału
Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 12, no. 37 (2015): 55-73
5 Gammone, Mariateresa. "The European dream. The frontier in European history." Politeja-Pismo Wydziału
Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 12, no. 37 (2015): 55-73

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states of Europe derive their power from its peripheral states and as a consequence, are able to
institutionalize themselves.
In conclusion it can be observed that the First World War had a significant impact on the
makeup of the European identity and on the changing mentality of the people with regards to the
nature of war. The above mentioned articles analyses each of these aspects in a detailed manner
and the readers are made aware about the horrors of the war.

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References:
Gammone, Mariateresa. "The European dream. The frontier in European history." Politeja-Pismo
Wydziału Studiów Międzynarodowych i Politycznych Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 12, no. 37
(2015): 55-73.
Pelz, William. Protest and Mutiny Confront Mass Slaughter: Europeans in World War I. Pluto
Press (2016) pp 103-114.