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Reader comment on item: The Worst Day in History
in response to reader comment: Also - Arguably - One of the Best of Days

Submitted by Michael S. (United States), Jun 30, 2014 at 02:37

Ludvikus,

Both you and Daniel have valid points, and much insight. Horrible things certainly happened, pursuant to the Sarajevo assassination: two world wars, the Holocaust and nuclear warfare. That said, the actions of a Serbian Nationalist gunman were not the ultimate cause. Germany's rise, after all, was an expression of ethnic nationalism, which some date back to Napoleon. The Ottoman Empire, likewise, was carved up not so much by WWI, as by nationalist movements in Serbia, Romania, Greece and other places. Austria-Hungary was already tottering in 1867, with the creation of the Dual Monarchy -- again, as a resutl of the same nationalist forces that eventually formed Jugoslavia. Russia morphed into the USSR during WWI, as the result of Communism, a whole different cause from the Yugoslav Nationalism that Gavrilo Princip espoused. Zionism, which triumphed in 1948, had its beginnings in the 1880s, a generation before Prinicp; it was mainly a nationalist movement, with elements of Socialism.

All of these were part of a continuum of events. Had Princip never been born, WWI would still have happened; because a rising Germany would eventually challenge British superiority. Likewise, the Japanese had begun their expansion long before 1914. Colonialism essentially grew until the entire world was carved up between the great powers; then a climax came, in which they turned upon one another with full force. The great victor was a relative outsider in Napoleon's day, the United States of America.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (22) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
history repeats itself [67 words]WilsonJul 1, 2014 12:18215692
1The Spark That Lights The Coming Middle-East Wars [598 words]Lujack SkylarkJul 1, 2014 10:15215690
The Reality on the Ground Concurs with What is Portrayed Here [23 words]M. ToveyJul 7, 2014 15:04215690
The Beast, Turkey, etc. [943 words]Michael SJul 10, 2014 21:03215690
120.01.1942 a worse day [112 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
mythJul 1, 2014 09:59215689
1Sarajevo source of the worst day in history [82 words]lilyJun 29, 2014 23:03215659
The worst day in history [65 words]LilyJun 29, 2014 22:54215658
To be clear, those who need to catch up on history:: [116 words]NuritGJun 29, 2014 15:59215653
The Japanese were forgotten [34 words]нафикнафикJun 30, 2014 15:14215653
1I have never bought the assertion that Princip was the cause. [189 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
yonasonJun 29, 2014 09:53215650
2the powder keg and the fuse - Belgium [383 words]mythJul 3, 2014 04:45215650
1Also - Arguably - One of the Best of Days [177 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
LudvikusJun 29, 2014 09:34215649
Part of a Continuum [239 words]Michael S.Jun 30, 2014 02:37215649
no titles [23 words]leoJun 30, 2014 08:35215649
Overthrow of reichs and empires, and the "unipolar world" [242 words]Michael S.Jul 8, 2014 05:08215649
Instead of "before" and "after", I'd use "with" and "without" Hitler's order - Lybia "with". [89 words]leoJul 11, 2014 14:08215649
no titles [40 words]leoJul 11, 2014 15:53215649
Какое это имеет отношение делать с этой темой? [7 words]Michael S.Jul 13, 2014 03:40215649
I can not excuse for things that you will ever think [15 words]leoJul 16, 2014 13:17215649
1arguably? yes. [36 words]EleniJun 28, 2014 15:58215642
One Thing They Didn't Have in 1914 [95 words]TL WinslowJun 28, 2014 11:50215637
The Worst Day in History [66 words]Elsdon WardJun 28, 2014 11:03215636

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