Two Major Wars - Essay Example

Several books and movies have been written and made on how the war affected the lives of people as well as modern societies around the world. The major power countries lost millions of soldiers; these brave men fought hard and sacrificed their lives ultimately. However, the war also affected civilians and people from everyday walks of life that had no hand in it.

The face of politics, economies around the world, as well as public opinion, underwent a strong change because of the First World War. Germany was at large made to pay for the reparation of the damages that it had caused all around the globe, and most other countries tried to adopt a more liberal path of government to serve the people better and establish democracies. There was widespread inflation all around as people were forced to pay high sums of money for the necessities of life. Industrialization had not yet taken a strong hold over many countries, however, it began to, because people were in vast need of jobs. Pay cuts were rampant as more and more people began to die early and were not able to afford food for their families. The use of human labor also declined a great deal as more and more machines came into use.

The effect of the War on civilians thus was such that it had a long-term impact on their lives. Entire families were affected in a bad way due to the down-sloped economy. People began to distrust each other as well as political parties due to the horror and destruction that they had witnessed. Psychologically speaking, they were not prepared to survive in an environment full of negative energy that the War had thrust upon them.

Millions of soldiers were shell-shocked as they witnessed as well as took part in the worst and most heinous forms of death and annihilation during the War. A large number of them died, and those who survived went back home with lost limbs, arms, legs, and other damaged body parts. Many of them were victims of poisonous gases which lead to their life expectancy reducing a great deal. Many of them even suffered serious long-lasting injuries including mental and nervous conditions; some of them even returned home disabled, for the rest of their lives.

Even though these soldiers were fighting to see their countries win and were under the orders of the higher authorities, they could do nothing but try and save their homeland. Civilians at the same time prayed for their lives and wished them to come back unscathed, and at the same time tried to save themselves from the lasting ill effects of the War.