The European Societies and Governments Over the Course of World War I From 1914 until 1918, World War I, with its center in Europe, was fought. All the major powers in the world were represented, fighting against each other in 2 types of alliances: the Allies (led by Russia, France, Italy and United Kingdom) and the Central Powers (led by Germany and Austria-Hungary.) 70 million professional and unprofessional soldiers fought, with an approximated loss of 10 million people. This war caused huge upheavals in the European society, and I will now look into three different aspects that can be seen as a step in the direction of the modern Europe, that we have seen after World War II and continuously until today.
Once World War I started, a lot of men, many of them with passion for their own countries, left to defend their fatherlands. As the men went to the trenches, the women that were left at home had to start working or volunteering to keep the wheels spinning. What typically had to be done were jobs such as making uniforms for the soldiers, and working in hospitals that took care of hurt soldiers. According to the reading Four Weeks in the Trenches, Kreisler’s wife volunteered her services as a Red Cross nurse (Kreisler, page 11.) It was not completely revolutionary that the women were working, but now the job they did really got appreciated. It paid off after the war, and in countries such as Great Britain, Germany, the United States and the Soviet Union, the women was granted the right to vote in political contexts. Consequently, we could also see a change in the direction of a more liberate view on women’s behavior. They got out of their traditional role on the kitchen in the households, some became more sexual active outside their marriage during wartime, and they stood up for their rights.
Even though these rights and behaviors disappeared or were