Was "The war to end all wars" viewed as cynically during WW1 as it is today?
Upvote:2
Yes, the "war to end all wars" was mostly a notion created for political speeches, and there were numerous reasons for contemporaries to contest the reality of that.
However, what might be an important difference compared to today's point of view is that, back in 1918, the more people doubt of the "war to end all wars", the more they wanted to take measures to prevent new wars.
The most important example of such a state of mind is France: In France, the general outlines of the "war to end all wars" were:
- WW1 (called Great War by that time) was horrible: measures should be enforced to prevent a new war, especially a German revenge
- The victory was to be used to enforce such measures: this was the main goal of French negotiations of Versailles
You might note, ironically, that at least in the political and social state of mind in Germany and English-speaking countries, such French-imposed measures at Versailles triggered the revenge spirit.
Upvote:8
Your question is too broad to fully answer, but the ideas behind the phrase have indirectly led to the UN. The optimism about preventing conflicts through cooperation is alive and well.
Optimism about said cooperation ending all wars almost certainly died with the abject failure of the League of Nations - and never was extremely widespread to begin with.
H.G. Wells coined the phrase. His vision was that after the terrible destruction of industrial war, all people would come together in a League of Nations to make a lasting peace.
These ideas gained some popularity during WWI, and afterwards the League of Nations was formed. Woodrow Wilson (oft associated with the quote) was a driving factor behind this.
The failure of Wells' ideas (and origin of the ridicule of the phrase) is best demonstrated in how the League of Nations was completely powerless to prevent WWII.
More in depth reading: http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/history-world-war-I-world-wars/81869.aspx
More post
- 📝 Was the Hebrew Bible modified and rewritten from Aramaic to Hebrew after the death of Jesus?
- 📝 Is there evidence that Harald Bluetooth died from an arrow to the rear?
- 📝 Was Princess Elizabeth a van/ambulance driver/mechanic during WW2?
- 📝 Which military commanders burned their own ships?
- 📝 Did Hitler have an end goal during the "appeas*m*nt" phase, or was he just picking a fight?
- 📝 What types of weapons did the British army use in the late 1890's?
- 📝 How much did gunpowder cost per barrel in 1605 in London?
- 📝 Who are the people walking with Hitler?
- 📝 What was the origin of the Classical Antiquity culture?
- 📝 Why did Hideyoshi invade Korea?
- 📝 Why did non prosecuted craftsmen go to the new world in the Roanoke era?
- 📝 Is there any book depicting British rule in India from the eyes of British?
- 📝 What are some good books about middle ages plague?
- 📝 How were dagger axes used in battle?
- 📝 How can we be confident that Tacitus really wrote his Histories and Annals?
- 📝 Can anyone help identify this uniform jacket?
- 📝 A counterpoint/corrections list to "A Peoples' History of the United States"
- 📝 After their rise to power in 1932, were any of the elections or referenda under the Nazis legitimate?
- 📝 What would people have been smoking in 700 AD Central / Eastern Asia?
- 📝 What happened to Mao Zedong's first wife?
- 📝 Did "el Empecinado" fight in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)?
- 📝 Why did the Soviets refuse to help Nur Mohammed Taraki?
- 📝 Which were the last castles to be besieged and fall in the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Where can one study the movements of the natives of North America prior to European contact
- 📝 Why is the nuclear powered USS Nautilus (SSN-571) a museum, when nuclear aircraft carriers are not converted to museums?
- 📝 Why did the Allied Forces choose Normandy as their geographic point of invasion?
- 📝 Who were the Deer Touchers?
- 📝 What kind of labor was used to build the Egyptian pyramids?
- 📝 What did it mean that Italy was an Empire?
- 📝 How many Iraqi civilians were killed directly by US military action?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was "The war to end all wars" viewed as cynically during WW1 as it is today?
- 📝 How was beer production affected by the war during WW2?
- 📝 Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
- 📝 During World War I, why were church bells stopped until the war was over?
- 📝 Did Hitler have an end goal during the "appeas*m*nt" phase, or was he just picking a fight?
- 📝 Why was the last battle of the War of 1812 fought fully half a year after the official end of the war?
- 📝 Which city was attacked by Nazi-German war flights in India during WW2?
- 📝 How was occupied France governed during World War II?
- 📝 Why was Bulgaria at war with both the Allied and the Axis at the end of WWII?
- 📝 Was payment on Louisiana Bonds suspended during the War of 1812?
- 📝 What was the nominal strength of a company in a British Regiment during the American war of Independence?
- 📝 What was the English Civil War called during the Protectorate?
- 📝 Was the end date of Soviet-Japanese Border War the direct reason of starting Soviet invasion on Poland in 1939
- 📝 What was the estimated malaria death toll for US Forces during World War II?
- 📝 Where do all the bullet casings after a war end up?
- 📝 What was the size of the British East India fleet at the end of the War of 1812?
- 📝 An American Civil War battle where a general was ordered to advance to a certain point and wait . . . so waiting was all he did?
- 📝 Why did the French "surrender" all of its troops during the armistice in World War II?
- 📝 During World War II, were there any parts of the Japanese overseas empire that was capable of local re-supply?
- 📝 Why was Germany not broken up at the end of WW1
- 📝 Where was the Ixcanha Maya community located during the Caste War of the Yucatán?
- 📝 Was game theory used during World War II?
- 📝 Was there a viable alternate supply route to Australia during World War II?
- 📝 Why was Hanford, Washington, selected during World War II as the site of America’s first nuclear energy plant?
- 📝 Was there risk of revolution in France at end of World War I?
- 📝 What was the total megatonnage of all munitions expended in World War 2?
- 📝 Why did India release all Pakistani Soldiers captured during Indo Pak War 1965
- 📝 Was the treatment of US diplomats in Germany after the declaration of war during WW2 typical?
- 📝 Is this true that the Russian economy was efficient during war II?
- 📝 What was the most popular food staple among civilians during World War II?
