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Twentieth Century. The Twentieth Century at its ending had many parallels to its beginnings. At the end of the second millennium, the world was at peace, relatively prosperous, and seething with the same dynamism which it had at its beginning. This vibrancy and dynamism may well be one of the most important characteristics of Western culture. But the bulk of the century was lived at war, between wars, or afraid of war. The twentieth century has been the most bloody in all of human history. World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945) pitted Germany against Russia, France, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Germans lost both wars but the victors were almost as devastated as the losers. In terms of human casualties and devastation of property, these wars have been the most brutal and destructive in history. The Holocaust carried man’s inhumanity to man to a new level of barbarism. Only the United States emerged stronger from both wars and assumed a world leadership role after 1945. Russia was defeated in World War I. It underwent two revolutions in 1917 which led to the establishment of the world’s first communist government. The Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin engaged in forced industrialization. It nationalized industry and agriculture with great brutality. Initially Stalin opposed Hitler, then he allied himself to Hitler, only to be attacked surreptitiously by Hitler. Since the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Stalin found himself allied to Roosevelt and Churchill and thus on the winning side in World War II. Wartime cooperation soon led to the Cold War between communism and capitalism, totalitarianism and democracy, centrally planned economies and free market economies. Stalin died in 1953. He was followed by Khrushchev, Breshnev, and Gorbachev until the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991. The United States and the West had won the Cold War. In 1945, the United Nations replaced the League of Nations as a mankind’s last best hope for peaceful cooperation between states. It was created by the victors of World War II just before their wartime alliance broke down. The European powers, weakened by war, surrendered their colonial empires after World War II. From Asia to Africa, everywhere "uruhu"-- freedom, self-determination, independence--came at last. Five hundred years of European colonialism came to an end. Science and technology continued their progress unabated. Relativity and quantum mechanics replaced Newtonian physics. The atom and the atomic bomb transformed society. The United States dropped two atom bombs on Japan, our other enemy during World War II. V-2 rockets used by the Germans during the war were modified by these same German scientists now working for the United States to hurl satellites into space. The same rockets could also carry atomic or hydrogen bombs. The age of intercontinental missiles (ICBMs) had dawned by the 1960s. A balance of terror based on mutual assured destruction kept the peace during the Cold War. Nuclear submarines could fire ICBMs with multiple warheads from under the ocean waters. Laser weapons based in space orbit around earth became issues of political debate during the Reagan administration of the 1980s rather than science fiction fancies. Scientists engineered a communications revolution. From telegraphs and telephones, we moved to radio, television, personal computers, computer networks, and the internet. Genetics was unraveling the human genome. String theory may well turn out to be the theory of everything in physics. Despite so much science, technology, and social change, traditional religious beliefs seemed to be making a comeback. Fundamentalist Muslims, Christians, and Jews agreed on denouncing modern ideas and stressing traditional religious family values. New Age Religions sought to find contentment and harmony in contemplation, meditation, and spiritual exercises. Those who expected the Apocalypse at the end of the Millennium were disappointed. The world continued as it is and our human responsibility to make it work as best as we can did not come to an end. _+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_ You may also want to check out the material
for my International Politics Course, GOV 207 There is material there on the World Wars
The material below is taken from my Extended Syllabus for
Western Civilization II Week 11 Toward World War I
World War I
Week 12: The World Wars The Russian Revolution
Fascism in Italy
Nazism in Germany: 1933 - 1939
World War II: 1939 - 1945
Week 13: Since World War II The Cold War: 1945 - 1953
The Cold War: 1953 - 1991
Third Hourly Exam WEEK 14: Toward the 21st Century The United Nations and Decolonization: 1945 - 1990
The World Since the Fall of Communism: 1991 - 2001
Science, Arts, Leisure, and the Revolution in Communications: 1945 - 2000
Updated April 29, 2003 |
