Modernization

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.”1 This time period in Europe was a time of pain, hardship, and struggle for so many of the people. As Europe came out of the 20th century and the aftermath of World War I they were faced with many problems and difficulties. The events of the twentieth Century such as the Holocaust, the Great Depression, and World War II made a big impact on Europe, America, and the rest of the world. The Holocaust caused many to look at things differently and brought about many controversial acts. It portrayed the real cruelty of the world and that some people would do anything for control and to have an unlimited power. These events brought about the truth of the world and how people reacted to certain situations. Many of these horrific events of the twentieth century were caused by modernization and the First World War. The Great Depression stood as a prime example of the negative effects of modernization on Europe. World War II acted as a starting point for many major problems that would be later intensified by modernization and technology. Although it presented many problems many technological advancements were made causing Europe into a downward spiral. The social, political, and economic transformations in the twentieth century created many new problems for the modern world and the people making lives much harder.
The economy of Europe endured many ups and downs during the twentieth century. During the Great Depression, the economies of many nations completely collapsed and countries were left with nothing. Commerce was greatly affected and economic stimulation was very difficult or was nonexistent. Germany was forced to pay all the reparations of the First World War even though they were just as financially unstable as the other countries involved. When Germany was unable to pay these reparations because they were unwilling to raise their taxes, they had to take out loans from other countries in order to pay for the damages they caused during the First World War. These loans were supplied by the United Kingdom and the United States, since they had the most availability to money and did not have the damages that some of the other European countries had. Hitler and his now unified Nazi Germany used this weakened state of governments to complete their plan of taking over Europe and purifying the world. Germany then began to start their takeover of the weakened countries of Europe which caused Germany and every other country to spend money they didn’t have attacking and defending their homes and families. By the end of the Second World War Europe was completely devastated. Unemployment was at a high and towns were destroyed and many people were homeless. Industries and trade began to suffer in Europe, especially in the UK and France, compared to countries in Asia which began to dominate trade. Even though the economy was at a low, some nations began to bond together and form the European Coal and Steel Community. This began to slowly boost the economy in the countries involved in this industry and community. In general, the hopes of a lot of the citizens were nonexistent and this hindered the expansion of these countries economically.
Society during the late twentieth century changed and endured many hardships due to the type of life and people who lived in Europe and the events leading up to this time. The entire world as a society changed the most by World War II. Tens of millions of people all across the world died from this war and the people who caused it. This transformed the world’s society more than other single event and it created problems for the future which would be controversial well into the