What was the impact of World War I on European society?
Answer:
The First World War left a deep imprint on European society and polity.
- Soldiers came to be placed above civilians.
- Politicians and publicists laid great success on the need for men to be aggressive, strong and masculine.
- The media glorified trench life but actually soldiers lived miserable lives in these trenches, trapped with rats feeding on corpses.
- They faced poisonous gas and enemy shelling, and witnessed their ranks reduce rapidly.
- Aggressive war propaganda and national honour occupied centre stage in the public sphere, while popular support grew for conservative dictatorships that had recently come into being.