7.5 The Impact of World War I on Global Politics and Consciousness

It changed the world. It led to the Russian Revolution, the collapse of the German Empire and the collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy, and it led to the restructuring of the political order in Europe and in other parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East. It resulted in, inevitably, World War II and another revolution in Germany, which brought Hitler to power. He was dedicated to the proposition that he would wipe away the “stain of Versailles,” which was the peace conference after the war. The war also affected consciousness. It shattered the secure, ordered life of Edwardian England, and people said after the war that the same sense of stability would never be there again. “The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our life-time,” British Lord Grey said.