EconAir

Lenin and Stalin, 1923 The conflict was “the first calamity of the 20 th  century, the calamity from which all other calamities sprang.”        Fritz Stern, German-American historian. Cited in  The Economist, “ Still  In the Grip of the Great War, ”  March 27, 2014 .  DISCONTINUITIES:    THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR I The 19th century ended in August, 1914. The 20th century began in November, 1918.   World War I was the “seminal tragedy” of the 20th century. If we judge the importance of a historical event by its long-term consequences, then WWI is the most important event of the 20 th   century. Much of the violence, wars, conflicts, and economic disruptions stem from the consequences of WWI. Every time I think the consequences of WWI are over, sometime else happens - the breakup and genocide in the former Yugoslavia (created as a result of post-WWI treaties), political and military conflict over the Central Europe “borderlands,” violence in the Middle East partly due to the a