The starting point for this work is the view that the 20th century is the darkest time in the history of humankind, at least to the present generation. That is why I will begin by discussing why 20th century is perceived horrible. I will also show that the 20th century had its silver linings that contributed to the further development of mankind.
What made the last century economically tragic was the Great Depression. The crisis began in the US on 04.09.1929 after a sharp drop in the value of stocks. It started as a local crisis, but on the 29th October 1929, when the stocks' status turned into global news the crisis, too, turned global. The day was named afterward Black Tuesday. Investors lost faith in the American economy and started to sell their shares in panic. World GDP fell by 15% from 1929 to 1932. The unemployment rate in the US rose to 25%, in some countries even to 33%. Construction stopped in several countries, people living in rural areas had to suffer a 60% drop in grain prices. Cities were also hit by the economic crisis, especially cities that relied on heavy industry. Although the economic crisis ended in 1933, the economies of some countries were fully restored in the late 1930s. A lot of people lost their jobs due to the economic downfall and the "lucky ones", who managed to keep their jobs, had to suffer lower paychecks. Terrible economic situation could even get to the strongest people, being morally devastating.
In the 20th century, humanity had to endure not one, but two world wars that left their marks on humanity. The First World War (1914-1918) was driven by the attack of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) in Sarajevo by the hands of Gavrilo Principi 28.06.1914. In my opinion, the political murder should have remained a local conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Due to the fact that the parties who joined later in the fight were not personally involved with the event. The local disagreement managed to get to the global state only due to the fact that Austria had previously signed a treaty with Germany. The treaty stated, that if one party would be attacked in the future, then the other party was obliged to go and help the other out, by declaring war on the aggressor. Serbia wasn't led by the blind and deaf, so they also found an ally... in Russia. The lack of institutions to regulate international relationships didn't do any good either in this tense situation, where everybody waited to show off their new technology and romanticized courage. Almost the whole world was finally involved in the war, so it is fair to say that the conflict impacted all mankind. About 40 million people died in World War I. Most of the Entente population that died were Russians (30% of those killed fighting for the Entente) and French (25% of those killed fighting for the Entente), Germans of Central countries (52% of deaths for Central countries). I WW impacted heavily on the youngsters', who grew up during or abruptly after the war, mental health. The American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) called the post-war generation the Lost Generation. The idea came from an American novelist Gertrude Stein. Stein told Hemingway the story of a garage owner yelling at a young mechanic because he was too slowly repairing the car: "You are all a génération perdue." Stein added to Hemingway, "That is what you are. That's what you all are... all of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.” The unfair peace that concluded the First World War became the basis for the next conflict. I think humanity also benefited from the First World War. In the pre-war period, there were no institutions regulating international crises. The lack of such organizations enabled a local conflict to acquire global level. At the end of the war, people reflected on that mistake and the League of Nations was established at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. True, the organization was unable to fulfill its main purpose: preventing global wars. In spite of this fact, in 1945, the League of Nations inspired 51 countries to form another international organization, the United Nations, which today includes all the countries of the world (except Vatican, Taiwan, Kosovo). If you are pondering why are they not included, then for the two of them the reason is simple. Vatican is a small city-state, that the pope rules. It's not likely that the pope violates basic human rights, so there's no need to check upon him. Why not Taiwan? Because decent people from the People's Republic of China won't tolerate sitting in the same room with Taiwanese people. Plus, Taiwanese government is less likely to violate its citizens' rights than their "foe" China. But, hey, choose whatever answer that pleases you the most, for the fact still remains that Taiwan is not in the UN.
The Second World War was prompted by the invasion of the National Socialists in Poland on 01.09.1939. Communists also wanted a slice of Poland, so they invaded Poland from the east later on. 50-60 million people were killed in the war, which consists of 45 million civilians. It means that WW II was more deadly to civilians than soldiers. The bombardments of the Axis powers and Allies caused severe damage to many cities: Berlin and Warsaw were almost completely destroyed, some parts of London and Rotterdam needed complete reconstruction after the war, Hamburg, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Sebastopol, Kiev, Budapest were demolished to complete ruins. The infrastructure was also seriously damaged by the bombings. Bombings and Nazi concentration camps left the survivors with serious psychological disorders. Of course the communists were not less brutal than the national socialists, but the public was less aware of their brutality back then. The Second World War is considered to be the greatest military conflict in mankind.
I consider the Cuba (international name) / Caribbean (how Russia calls it) crisis, one of the last serious blows in 1962. The crisis was due to US ballistic missiles being brought to Italy and Turkey, which the Soviet Union saw as right "behind their doorsteps". Nikita Khrushchev, Secretary General of Soviet Union Communist Party (1953-1964) responded to passive aggressive behavior by sending Soviet missiles to Cuba, which was "behind USA's doorsteps". The US found out about Khrushchev's plan and took Cuba into a siege before the missiles could reach Cuba. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963) and Khrushchev summoned their advisers and discussed with them several days before taking further actions. Kennedy was advised to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba, but the US president immediately rejected the advice, thinking about the consequences of the obvious aggression against the Soviet Union. Fortunately, Kennedy and Khrushchev finally found a common language: the Soviet Union would bring all its missiles back from Cuba, in return the US publicly had to declare that it will no longer plan to invade Cuba; and secretly the U.S. promised to bring back its missiles from Turkey. This crisis is worth mentioning, because if Khrushchev and Kennedy had not reached a compromise, then the 20th century would have been a witness to the Third World War, where a possible weapon would also be a nuclear arsenal.
The "darkest time" of mankind had also rays of light. The equal rights for women were generally recognized. Women won the right to study in universities and equal opportunities for jobs in 1950-1960s. The number of working women in the workforce rose to 35% in the 1960s, and 40% of university degrees were obtained by female students. The movement of women's equal rights generally changed the role of women and the attitude of the opposite sex in society in general. Attitudes towards minorities became drastically benevolent. The most famous example is the peaceful struggle to expand civil rights and stop racial discrimination by the American Baptist priest Martin Luther King (1929-1968). On the 28th August of 1963, King held a famous speech "I have a dream" at Lincoln Memorial, in which he called for an end to racism in the United States (Fragment from the speech: "I have a dream that my... children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character") and to give everyone equal civil and economic rights. A few days after Martin Luther King's assassination, Congress passed a 1968 Civil Rights Act banning discrimination on the grounds of race, religion or national origin.
People started to took more heed in environmental protection. In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964) wrote in a book "Silent Spring" how the release of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) into the air has a negative impact on the environment. In addition, Carson raised a question of how it is a good idea to burst large quantities of chemicals, which effects on humans and ecology are unknown, into the atmosphere? Public interest in the environment has risen thanks to this book. The interest in nature has led to the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. The USEPA banned the use of DDT in US agriculture two years after. More attention was paid to problems such as air pollution and oil spills. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth was formed that stand for the preservation of the purity of nature to this day. Creating Earth Day 21.03.1970 in San Francisco, which is now followed by almost all countries in the world. The day focuses on cleaning nature from garbage. 05.06-16.06.1972 UN held the Stockholm Conference that discussed the concerns of international nature, which became the cornerstone for the fight against environmental pollution. Mankind has begun to understand by the second half of the 20th century that the cleanness of the environment must be preserved, not to be taken granted.
The aspect of cultural and medical development of the 20th century is also worth mentioning. Music became more diverse, as composers were no longer guided by the principles of previously accepted music, introducing a number of innovations. New genres were rock, rap, reggae and jazz. The introduction of radios and gramophones helped to spread various musical performances. People who could not buy a ticket or a certain music was not played in their area could now listen to any music that was created around the world. In medicine, treatments for many diseases had been discovered. Cures for diseases include chickenpox, diphtheria, malaria.
Today, the 20th century is seen as the darkest period of humanity. The two world wars of the last century, the violence of totalitarian regimes (national socialism, communism) against several million people and the possible nuclear disaster - they have left a profound mark on human history. Despite all the negative events that happened, there were many positive changes in society. Better attitudes towards minorities, serious concern for the preservation of the environment, women having equal rights with men, cultural diversity in music, treatment for various diseases – these things should not be forgotten due to the horrors of the 20th century. But since little time since the 20th century has passed, the sharpness of the horrors has not yet faded, appearing in people's minds as the darkest time in history.
What made the last century economically tragic was the Great Depression. The crisis began in the US on 04.09.1929 after a sharp drop in the value of stocks. It started as a local crisis, but on the 29th October 1929, when the stocks' status turned into global news the crisis, too, turned global. The day was named afterward Black Tuesday. Investors lost faith in the American economy and started to sell their shares in panic. World GDP fell by 15% from 1929 to 1932. The unemployment rate in the US rose to 25%, in some countries even to 33%. Construction stopped in several countries, people living in rural areas had to suffer a 60% drop in grain prices. Cities were also hit by the economic crisis, especially cities that relied on heavy industry. Although the economic crisis ended in 1933, the economies of some countries were fully restored in the late 1930s. A lot of people lost their jobs due to the economic downfall and the "lucky ones", who managed to keep their jobs, had to suffer lower paychecks. Terrible economic situation could even get to the strongest people, being morally devastating.
In the 20th century, humanity had to endure not one, but two world wars that left their marks on humanity. The First World War (1914-1918) was driven by the attack of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) in Sarajevo by the hands of Gavrilo Principi 28.06.1914. In my opinion, the political murder should have remained a local conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Due to the fact that the parties who joined later in the fight were not personally involved with the event. The local disagreement managed to get to the global state only due to the fact that Austria had previously signed a treaty with Germany. The treaty stated, that if one party would be attacked in the future, then the other party was obliged to go and help the other out, by declaring war on the aggressor. Serbia wasn't led by the blind and deaf, so they also found an ally... in Russia. The lack of institutions to regulate international relationships didn't do any good either in this tense situation, where everybody waited to show off their new technology and romanticized courage. Almost the whole world was finally involved in the war, so it is fair to say that the conflict impacted all mankind. About 40 million people died in World War I. Most of the Entente population that died were Russians (30% of those killed fighting for the Entente) and French (25% of those killed fighting for the Entente), Germans of Central countries (52% of deaths for Central countries). I WW impacted heavily on the youngsters', who grew up during or abruptly after the war, mental health. The American writer Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) called the post-war generation the Lost Generation. The idea came from an American novelist Gertrude Stein. Stein told Hemingway the story of a garage owner yelling at a young mechanic because he was too slowly repairing the car: "You are all a génération perdue." Stein added to Hemingway, "That is what you are. That's what you all are... all of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.” The unfair peace that concluded the First World War became the basis for the next conflict. I think humanity also benefited from the First World War. In the pre-war period, there were no institutions regulating international crises. The lack of such organizations enabled a local conflict to acquire global level. At the end of the war, people reflected on that mistake and the League of Nations was established at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. True, the organization was unable to fulfill its main purpose: preventing global wars. In spite of this fact, in 1945, the League of Nations inspired 51 countries to form another international organization, the United Nations, which today includes all the countries of the world (except Vatican, Taiwan, Kosovo). If you are pondering why are they not included, then for the two of them the reason is simple. Vatican is a small city-state, that the pope rules. It's not likely that the pope violates basic human rights, so there's no need to check upon him. Why not Taiwan? Because decent people from the People's Republic of China won't tolerate sitting in the same room with Taiwanese people. Plus, Taiwanese government is less likely to violate its citizens' rights than their "foe" China. But, hey, choose whatever answer that pleases you the most, for the fact still remains that Taiwan is not in the UN.
The Second World War was prompted by the invasion of the National Socialists in Poland on 01.09.1939. Communists also wanted a slice of Poland, so they invaded Poland from the east later on. 50-60 million people were killed in the war, which consists of 45 million civilians. It means that WW II was more deadly to civilians than soldiers. The bombardments of the Axis powers and Allies caused severe damage to many cities: Berlin and Warsaw were almost completely destroyed, some parts of London and Rotterdam needed complete reconstruction after the war, Hamburg, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Sebastopol, Kiev, Budapest were demolished to complete ruins. The infrastructure was also seriously damaged by the bombings. Bombings and Nazi concentration camps left the survivors with serious psychological disorders. Of course the communists were not less brutal than the national socialists, but the public was less aware of their brutality back then. The Second World War is considered to be the greatest military conflict in mankind.
I consider the Cuba (international name) / Caribbean (how Russia calls it) crisis, one of the last serious blows in 1962. The crisis was due to US ballistic missiles being brought to Italy and Turkey, which the Soviet Union saw as right "behind their doorsteps". Nikita Khrushchev, Secretary General of Soviet Union Communist Party (1953-1964) responded to passive aggressive behavior by sending Soviet missiles to Cuba, which was "behind USA's doorsteps". The US found out about Khrushchev's plan and took Cuba into a siege before the missiles could reach Cuba. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961-1963) and Khrushchev summoned their advisers and discussed with them several days before taking further actions. Kennedy was advised to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba, but the US president immediately rejected the advice, thinking about the consequences of the obvious aggression against the Soviet Union. Fortunately, Kennedy and Khrushchev finally found a common language: the Soviet Union would bring all its missiles back from Cuba, in return the US publicly had to declare that it will no longer plan to invade Cuba; and secretly the U.S. promised to bring back its missiles from Turkey. This crisis is worth mentioning, because if Khrushchev and Kennedy had not reached a compromise, then the 20th century would have been a witness to the Third World War, where a possible weapon would also be a nuclear arsenal.
The "darkest time" of mankind had also rays of light. The equal rights for women were generally recognized. Women won the right to study in universities and equal opportunities for jobs in 1950-1960s. The number of working women in the workforce rose to 35% in the 1960s, and 40% of university degrees were obtained by female students. The movement of women's equal rights generally changed the role of women and the attitude of the opposite sex in society in general. Attitudes towards minorities became drastically benevolent. The most famous example is the peaceful struggle to expand civil rights and stop racial discrimination by the American Baptist priest Martin Luther King (1929-1968). On the 28th August of 1963, King held a famous speech "I have a dream" at Lincoln Memorial, in which he called for an end to racism in the United States (Fragment from the speech: "I have a dream that my... children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character") and to give everyone equal civil and economic rights. A few days after Martin Luther King's assassination, Congress passed a 1968 Civil Rights Act banning discrimination on the grounds of race, religion or national origin.
People started to took more heed in environmental protection. In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964) wrote in a book "Silent Spring" how the release of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) into the air has a negative impact on the environment. In addition, Carson raised a question of how it is a good idea to burst large quantities of chemicals, which effects on humans and ecology are unknown, into the atmosphere? Public interest in the environment has risen thanks to this book. The interest in nature has led to the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. The USEPA banned the use of DDT in US agriculture two years after. More attention was paid to problems such as air pollution and oil spills. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth was formed that stand for the preservation of the purity of nature to this day. Creating Earth Day 21.03.1970 in San Francisco, which is now followed by almost all countries in the world. The day focuses on cleaning nature from garbage. 05.06-16.06.1972 UN held the Stockholm Conference that discussed the concerns of international nature, which became the cornerstone for the fight against environmental pollution. Mankind has begun to understand by the second half of the 20th century that the cleanness of the environment must be preserved, not to be taken granted.
The aspect of cultural and medical development of the 20th century is also worth mentioning. Music became more diverse, as composers were no longer guided by the principles of previously accepted music, introducing a number of innovations. New genres were rock, rap, reggae and jazz. The introduction of radios and gramophones helped to spread various musical performances. People who could not buy a ticket or a certain music was not played in their area could now listen to any music that was created around the world. In medicine, treatments for many diseases had been discovered. Cures for diseases include chickenpox, diphtheria, malaria.
Today, the 20th century is seen as the darkest period of humanity. The two world wars of the last century, the violence of totalitarian regimes (national socialism, communism) against several million people and the possible nuclear disaster - they have left a profound mark on human history. Despite all the negative events that happened, there were many positive changes in society. Better attitudes towards minorities, serious concern for the preservation of the environment, women having equal rights with men, cultural diversity in music, treatment for various diseases – these things should not be forgotten due to the horrors of the 20th century. But since little time since the 20th century has passed, the sharpness of the horrors has not yet faded, appearing in people's minds as the darkest time in history.
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