Lest we forget...100 years ago the match was lit

[Rami]

Good afternoon.

I forgot to put this up yesterday, but I find it interesting that they chose the 100 year anniversary to unveil this statue: http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ivided-archduke-franz-ferdinand-assassination

Let us all take a moment to remember all those who fought and died in the war which forever changed the landscape of Europe and the World.

 

[Worthless]

Thanks for the reminder Rami. I'm headed to my bookshelves right now. It's been 20 years since I read the "The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman, so it's high time I re-read it.

Also, if I may, this is unrelated, but I have just finished a fascinating little book. It's called "The Goldsboro Broken Arrow," by Joel Dobson and it's the true story of a B52 crash in eastern N.C. and the two H-Bombs that fell out of the sky in 1961. One is still there, buried. I was only 10 at the time, still in all the years since, I'd never heard about it until now. I recommend it.

 

[rhumbaflappy]

He was an underage kid. Died in prison in 1918. Closed his eyes and turned his head away when he unloaded the gun. Pure luck that he hit anything.

He later stated he was horrified at the carnage of WWI, and would take it back if he could.

The statue represents the manipulation of children by evil people.. regardless of the value of the reason. It continues today, notably in Africa and the Mideast, but other places as well that put children in harm's way for the sake of the "cause".

The war didn't start because of the kid. It was the adults of all the factions that are responsible... some because they wanted war, and some because they wanted change, and some that didn't want change. Those shots were only a catalyst of an event that was already inevitable.

Dick

 

[Killer Svend]

In 1864 Denmark lost a war against Germany and we paid the bill, the germans took southern Jutland ,means that both my mother and father was born as German citizens.

My father was born in 1893 means he was 21 when the war started, before that he was close to finish the 2 years army service, so he was soldier for 6 years, he was an artillery gunner, so he never saw if his granates killed someone but most probably they did. he was lucky, he came back in one piece. After the war the Germans was forced to give south juland back to Denmark but 6000 young men from this region was killed for a case who was not theirs.

Killer Svend

 

[kelticheart]

..... in the war which forever changed the landscape of Europe and the World.

Yeah. "The war to end all wars" which, in reality, was the set stage for World War II.

In spite of the mind boggling amount of human lives who were lost during both conflicts, there are still people here in Europe upholding nationalist ideas and trying to diffuse them.

The 69 years of peace from May 1945 Europe enjoyed have been the longest period without wars Europe ever had, since mankind learned how to write and record history. Up until both of my grandfathers, every generation here had a war to fight, as I am among the first European generations who never witnessed or had to fight a war, Thanks God.
Both of my grandfathers fought in WWI, both returned safely unscathed, while quite a few of their brothers never returned. Grand-uncles that I never met and I only saw wearing soldier's uniforms in old pictures hanging from the walls of my grandparents' homes, always with a candle burning to their memory under. Several of them, all MIA, never had their remains returned to our family, either. I was raised with stories of their parents that could not cope with the loss of their sons and finally died of grief.

But there are still so many "local conflicts" going on that one cannot refrain from believing that, the peace some parts of the world nowadays enjoy, is only due to the fact that we are still living under the nuclear deterrent umbrella, otherwise things would be different, since mankind is always due to repeat the same mistakes in history. Lately, religious intolerance and fanaticism is becoming another one of the Apocalypse riders.

I only hope that all of the talk that this 100 year recurrence will bring, will somehow contribute to diffuse the worldwide message that wars earn only suffering, destruction and death.

Cheers!
KH

 

[Roxane-21]

The 69 years of peace from May 1945 Europe enjoyed have been the longest period without wars Europe ever had, since mankind learned how to write and record history. Up until both of my grandfathers, every generation here had a war to fight, as I am among the first European generations who never witnessed or had to fight a war, Thanks God.

I have to disagree with your statement.

We saw the war in the Balkans, and even if western Europe countries never fought a war on their own land since 1945 (if we except colonial wars) their armed forces have been and are still involved in many conflicts around the world. One of my best friends lost her father during the Falklands war, and one of my elder cousin has been wounded in Iraq in 1991.

Of course none of these conflicts became wolrdwide and this is our responsibility that this will never happen again.

But nuclear deterrence seems to be less and less deterrent...

 

[Blood_Hawk23]

I have to disagree with your statement.
We saw the war in the Balkans, and even if western Europe countries never fought a war on their own land since 1945 (if we except colonial wars) their armed forces have been and are still involved in many conflicts around the world. One of my best friends lost her father during the Falklands war, and one of my elder cousin has been wounded in Iraq in 1991.

Of course none of these conflicts became wolrdwide and this is our responsability that this will never happen again.
But nuclear deterrence seems to be less and less deterrent...

That would be because the generation in power now have lost the fear. Many were just children at the end of WWII. Some yet to be born. Lets pray that not everyone has forgotten. It is a different type of world these days. Good or bad, it is different.

 

[Rami]

Reply...

Yeah. "The war to end all wars" which, in reality, was the set stage for World War II.

Kelti,

To a certain extent, you can thank the Balfour Declaration, the Treaty of Versailles, the Sykes-Picot agreement, and the Sevres peace treaty for many of the issues that led to World War II and the problems in the Middle East today. (The British previous to the Balfour declaration had an agreement with the Arab nations that essentially boiled down to "you help us, we'll help you." The Balfour declaration was an abrupt reversal of that policy)

Those four documents give powerful meaning to the phrase "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

 

[TIOPUERKO]

100 años

Si amigos, han pasado 100 años y en ese tiempo unos 200 conflictos armados.
Es lamentable ,pero no hemos aprendido nada .
Un saludo

 

[kelticheart]

I have to disagree with your statement.

We saw the war in the Balkans, and even if western Europe countries never fought a war on their own land since 1945 (if we except colonial wars) their armed forces have been and are still involved in many conflicts around the world. One of my best friends lost her father during the Falklands war, and one of my elder cousin has been wounded in Iraq in 1991.

Of course none of these conflicts became wolrdwide and this is our responsibility that this will never happen again.

But nuclear deterrence seems to be less and less deterrent...

Yes, Roxane-21.

I though it was obvious I meant Western European territories, which, as written in any history book, witnessed thousands of years of conflicts. Most people think the Romans with their imperial views were the first ones to have continual wars through the ages, but they were only the first ones who "globalized" (for the known world back then) conflicts. All of early Indo-European populations developed warrior and conqueror cultures, Western European soil is soaked in blood.

When we talk about WWI and WWII we are talking about Western European countries which started fighting each other, later involving the rest of the world into two of the worst holocausts the world had ever seen before.

The 69-year period from May 1945 until today is the longest period without Western Europe ever had, by all means.

I know very well European soldiers have been constantly involved in "local conflicts" since the end of WWII. Italy paid a steady toll of soldier's lives, as well as all of the other NATO member nations, since its first international involvement from the 1943 armistice, in Lebanon back in the 1980's. Such toll is still being paid to date, in Afghanistan and other international involvements.

Cheers!
KH