It has been 100 years since the start of the First World War, which raged the world from July 28, 1914 until Nov. 11, 1918.
WWI was physically fought mostly in the Eastern hemisphere, but it involved over 100 countries in total. It resulted in over 37 million deaths and left destruction across the oceans and three continents.
WSU will commemorate the war with "A Long, Long Way: Echoes of the Great War," a series of events hosted by Collaborative Education Leadership and Innovation in the Arts (CELIA) that will include musical programs, films, lectures and exhibits.
WWI pitted the United States and other great powers of the world against one another and changed the world drastically in technology, politics and economics. Professor of history and senior CELIA fellow Paul Lockhart explained how the war impacted many of the nations involved at that time.
"It was the first real war of nations, in which entire populations were involved," Lockhart said. "It was the first war of massive armies of citizen-soldiers and that really put a strain on the newly industrialized economies of the Western nations. Its most obvious impact was on Europe, where it completely altered the balance of power, but it was arguably even more significant in changing everything about politics in Asia and Africa, too. For the U.S., the change was equally dramatic. WWI was America's fist significant war overseas. It was the first time the U.S. acted as a 'great power' in world affairs and could really draw on its newfound strength as an industrial giant."
The war also shook the world emotionally--not just because of the many lives lost, but because a war of its magnitude had never occurred before that time. Much of the world was shocked at the sudden conflict and horrors. Senior lecturer in history and CELIA fellow Christopher Oldstone-Moore talked about how the war impacted the people in the nations involved at that time, including the United States.
"People did not know that the war would last so long," Oldstone-Moore said. the... death and injury was on a scale never seen before. It was also the first 'total war' in the sense that civilians were deliberately targeted. Americans suffered much less than European countries, but with some four million men mobilized into the armed forces and some 300,000 men killed or wounded, it was enough to touch many Americans directly. One of the most important effects was a sobering realization that modern warfare was not a romantic adventure, but a terrible calamity that should be avoided at all costs."
However, even though it was so emotionally shocking and is also often marked as the "Great War," people do not always take time to remember WWI. It is often overshadowed the devastating war that following it almost 20 years later--WWII--which led to the greatest numbers of deaths of any way in history. Director of CELIA Hank Dahlman explained why it is important to commemorate WWI today.
"WWI was the great event which shaped the whole 20th century, and still shapes our world today," Dahlman said. "With WWI, we see the beginning of mechanized warfare, weapons of mass destruction, the decline of monarchial empires, the birth of new nations and states, the rise of fascism and communism, the fall of colonialism, the seeds of the Great Depression, and the start of the spiral into the Second World War."
Dahlman went on to explain that the Great War also had an impact on arts, letter and sciences in unprecedented ways, remarking that "Perhaps no other four-year period has had as much impact on our lives."
"So, it's good to examine this event so we remember where we came from, understand how we got where we are today, and imagine where we might be headed," Dahlman said. "Perhaps we can the begin to shape our world in new ways for coming generations."
Various American cities, including Dayton, were directly involved in and impacted by the war. Lockhart explained why it is not only important to remember WWI as Americans, but also as Daytonians.
"For Dayton, it was the war that created the city we know today, that first made the city an industrial giant," Lockhart said. "Dayton-Wright Aircraft was the only manufacturer of the DH-4 light bomber, the only warplane made in the WSA for service in WWI. Two-thirds of the U.S. Special Tractor M19197, the only tank made in America for American service, were made right here in Dayton."
Lockhart added that Dayton also "paid for the war in blood"--about 2,000 men and women from Montgomery County died serving in the Great War.
WWI ended when the ceasefire armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m., now known as Veteran's Day in the U.S. One of the commemoration events will be "Holidays in the Heartland," a special choral concert for veterans, featuring WSU's choral ensembles.
"At the concert, we will honor the Armed Forces, including active and retired military, and veteran," Dahlman said. "We will recognize our veterans as we perform a medley of armed forces anthems, and take a moment to commemorate the heroism and sacrifice of members of our military, past and present."
The WWI commemoration events will begin Oct. 11 and end on April 24.
