Impact of World War I - Essay Example

Impact of World War I The First World War took place between 1914 to 1918.It was a surprise to many and left many questions than answers to the problems that those who caused it sought to answer. It was a different form of war compared to the kind of wars that used to happen at that time. It was more brutal and violent. Prior to the start of this war, most of the then major world societies had experienced a revolution. The war left many people questioning on the future of the world at a time when there was many inventions. The inventions include electricity and the telephone among others. Most people believed the idea that humans were capable of destroying themselves. This war as referred by some people was indeed a great war. It affected all the nations of the world, from Europe to Africa. Today its effects are still felt. It was mainly among Britain, Austria, United States, Germany, Russia and France. These nations mobilized masses in other countries to fight against their enemies. There was political reformation in the whole world. The war is believed to have been greatly fueled by religious differences. Most of the political reformation was on religious grounds. Serbia matched with Russia as they shared the same doctrines, Croatia joined forces with Austria. Bosnia supported the Ottoman Empire. The war was catalyzed when Germany declared its support for Austria against the Serbs. This angered Russia and awakened British and French. Treaties were formed and the result was Europe being divided into two blocs. France Britain and Russia came to fight against Germany, Italy and Austria. Diplomacy disappeared and it was all about war. The impact of the war was soon to leave a mark in history. The use of chemical weapons adversely affected the human race. Bombs and poisonous gases killed millions of people and the few who survived developed permanent health problems, both physical and mental. Families were shattered and weeping became the norm in the entire world since all nations were affected and its people were being killed. Some of the bombs had far reaching catastrophes as they affected future generations. Children would be born with various defects. The atomic gases affected lifespan of the human race. Those who had greatly inhaled the gases died at an early age. Freedom of speech and expression was lost. Soldiers could not freely give their opinions on various matters especially those that pertained to war. Civil societies lost their voice and they could demonstrate leave alone striking. This resulted to people living in fear and suspicion of one another. Since the civil groups had no say the governments created laws that were promoting the war either directly or indirectly. Industries and factories stopped producing consumer goods and focused on military products. Soldiers were mistreated as they were underpaid. This led to oppressed societies that were docile. The dignity for human life was lost and the human race became blood stained. Ideologies changed and many people believed that the road to peace was through war. Soldiers stopped caring about humanity and indeed most of the Christian prayers were concentrated on asking for ammunitions. Violence and assassination was the norm. Children developed with these negative ideologies. It later became difficult to change the ideologies of these children when they had grown up. The result was this was more and more deaths. The deaths further traumatized the people. Indeed this was one of the darkest moments of the human history. Soldiers lived miserable lives. Prior to the war they were living with their families and their loved ones. They had time to rest and enjoy themselves in the bars. The war completely changed the lives of the soldiers .They were separated from their loved ones and their lives changed to that of war. They no longer had the opportunity to have drinks in bar, food and water actually became scarce commodities. They could go for days without food and at the same time fighting. Many of them suffered malnutrition and they could die of hunger. Their decaying bodies would then become food for wild animals. The conditions would become very difficult for the soldiers who survived as they would be tormented by the decaying images of their colleagues. The soldiers actually lived in very difficult conditions in middle of gunshots. They could spend days in bushes and hiding in caves. In these caves and bushes there were very many fierce wild animals like lions, elephants, rhinos and vey poisonous snakes. Peace and comfort was a strange word to the soldiers at this time. These words actually lost meaning. They could spend cold sleepless nights in the bushes. Some of them would get lost in the forests and they could experience lonely difficult and painful deaths. Others expressed denial by their colleagues in these horrible conditions. The health of the soldiers who used to survive was in pathetic condition as there was limited access to medical attention if there was any in the battle field. The conditions were too difficult for any doctor to be willing to work in them. The soldiers were left without doctors. In those conditions diseases of all manners were common. Diseases such as tuberculosis that are easily transferrable claimed lives of many, other died from asthma. Unarguably many soldiers died from diseases of which most of them were treatable like malaria and snake bites. Indeed a large percentage of the soldiers died from health related complications. As the war heightened, most of the world major economies that were funding the war rushed to amass colonies for themselves in Asia and Africa. The colonies would act as a cheap and readily available source of soldiers. Some of the soldiers would be carried after they were trained to go and fight. British largely dominated Africa and it competed with Germany for colonies. The British and Germans would then put pressure on the African leaders to fight against the colonies of their opponents. The situation was bloody. The whole world was now in war. Every region, nation, tribe and people was fighting either directly or indirectly. The war adversely affected the world economy. Most of the productive population had gone to war leaving the society with children, women and the aged. These groups of people were unproductive. Farms were left without workers .This led to widespread famine throughout the entire world. The human life became unbearable for both the soldiers and the civilians. Industries misused the laborers as they were forced to work for long hours with little or no pay. There was no order all through as the governments were focused on war. Economies of the then developing and undeveloped countries collapsed. These countries were forced to seek help from the major world economies. The major economies took advantage of the situation. There could give these nation help if they only agreed to their terms. The war did not seem to be ending soon. Soldiers’ lives continued to be more miserable and miserable. Soldiers underwent harsh conditions in the hands of the various captains of the armies. Cowardice was a serious offence. Any soldier who displayed any sign would be killed. Many soldiers were actually tortured and killed because of a slight show of cowardice. Those who were lucky to escape death would be given extremely difficult tasks like digging holes and terraces. They would later be exhausted and most of them die out of fatigue. The soldiers underwent through terrible physical conditions which left many dead and a few survived but those few would be in need of help in almost every sphere of life as they could be having infirmities of all kinds. Soldiers suffered shell shock which was a disorder of the brain that mainly developed on soldiers after loud explosions. The condition also affected those who were not involved in fighting. The condition was somehow permanent as it was difficult if not impossible for soldiers to erase these horrifying memories from their brains. It was more common among soldiers who were young especially those who have been taken to war when were still children. The soldiers who survived the war had this condition and they lived docile lives afraid of almost everything. They could be greatly disturbed by any form of noise. They would die if exposed to loud explosions. These soldiers could do almost nothing and their survival was of no great benefit to the society especially as far as economy is concerned (Zieger, 111). Apart from the shell shock, soldiers who survived the war experienced a lot of stress and trauma. This was attributed to the conditions they undergone. A soldier for example would manage to escape the war unhurt only to find his entire family destroyed. The result of this was a lot of stress and if not well managed the stress would lead to suicide. Several incidences are reported of soldiers who underwent this situation and later committed suicide. Others would commit suicide when they found all their belongings and investments stolen. A few soldiers because of trauma they could return to their people safe but in turn shoot their family members. These kind of abnormal activities are attributed to mental disorders. All the soldiers who took part in this First World War and survived underwent through very difficult conditions emotionally. Despite the many negative impacts of the war on the soldiers, it had some positive impact on the female soldiers. Most of the strong men if not all were soldiers and they were busy fighting. The other occupations were left to women. This provided a chance for the women to engage in professions which were previously male dominated. Many women started working in factories and others specialized in nursing, a profession which was very relevant at that time since most people would be injured in the course of the fight. Prior to the war, women used to be considered to belong to home and they were not allowed to participate in many outdoor activities. After the war women were more acceptable to the society and they were allowed to engage in civilian exercises like voting. The number of women also joining military increased. The war temporary taught the world that the road to peace was not through war but through peace. As a result the six major nations that were behind the war entered into peace treaties and peace and normalcy slowly returned in most regions though a few regions remained volatile. At this time most people were tired of fighting and some resulted to end the war not because they were satisfied but because they were tired of that kind of life. The First World War greatly impacted the world negatively especially upon the soldiers who witnessed horrible scenes which cannot be explained. Its effect is felt up to today. Various deadly weapons used during this period like bombs continue to be recovered in all over the world. These weapons still pose a challenge to the world a century after they were manufactured. Work Cited Zieger, Robert H. Americas Great War: World War I and the American Experience. Lanham [u.a.: Rowman & Littlefield Publ, 2001. Print. Read More