My Toastmaster's speech 3 - "World War I"

Its called "Get to the Point"

16 million dead. 21 million wounded. Out of total casualties 9.7 million were military personnel and about 6.8 million civilians. The Allies (UK, France, Russian Empire alongwith may other countries) lost 5.7 million soldiers and the Central Powers (German Empire, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria.) about 4 million. Yes, I am talking about World War I - which lies at the 6th position vis-à-vis death toll in the history of humanity, or should I say barbarism?

Good Afternoon friends. The general purpose of my speech today is to present a picture of the aftermath of the Great War and specific purpose is to justify the fact that wars lead to nothing else but disaster.

As we all know, the seeds of the war were sown as early as the late years of the 19th century by the complex network of political and military alliances throughout the European continent. The military conflict which began in central Europe in August, 1914, included many intertwined factors, including the conflicts and antagonisms of the four decades leading up to the war. Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism played major roles in the conflict. It all got ignited by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which was carried out by assassins sent from Belgrade, and the rest, as they say, is history -a crimson colored, widowed, orphaned and wounded history.

No other war had changed the map of Europe so dramatically—four empires disappeared: the German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and the Russian. Four defunct dynasties, the Hohenzollerns, the Habsburg, Romanovs and the Ottomans together with all their ancillary aristocracies, all fell after the war. Belgium and Serbia were badly damaged, as was France with 1.4 million soldiers dead, not counting other casualties. Germany and Russia were similarly affected.

Of the 60 million European soldiers who were mobilized from 1914 – 1918, 8 million were killed, 7 million were permanently disabled, and 15 million were seriously injured. Germany lost about 15% of its active male population, Austria–Hungary lost 17%, and France lost 10%. About 750,000 German civilians died from starvation caused by the British blockade during the war. By the end of the war, famine had killed approximately 100,000 people in Lebanon. The war had profound economic consequences. In addition, a major influenza epidemic spread around the world. Overall, the Spanish flu killed at least 50 million people. In 1914 alone, epidemic typhus killed 200,000 in Serbia. There were about 25 million infections and 3 million deaths from epidemic typhus in Russia from 1918 to 1922.

Approximately 200,000 Germans and about 600,000 Jews were deported by the Russian authorities. In 1916, an order was issued to deport around 650,000 Volga Germans to the east as well, but the Russian Revolution prevented this from being carried out. Many pogroms accompanied the Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Russian Civil War, 60,000–200,000 civilian Jews were killed in the atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire. The best estimates of the death toll from the Russian famine of 1921 run from 5 million to 10 million people. By 1922 there were at least 7 million homeless children in Russia as a result of nearly a decade of devastation from World War I.

That is not all. The end of World War I set the stage for other world conflicts, some of which are continuing well into the 21st century. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, pushed for socialist revolution. Out of German discontent with the still controversial Treaty of Versailles, Adolf Hitler was able to gain popularity and power. World War II was in part a continuation of the power struggle that was never fully resolved by the First World War; in fact, it was common for Germans in the 1930s and 1940s to justify acts of international aggression because of perceived injustices imposed by the victors of the First World War.

The establishment of the modern state of Israel and the roots of the continuing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict are partially found in the unstable power dynamics of the Middle East which were born at the end of World War I. Previous to the end of fighting in the war, the Ottoman Empire had maintained a modest level of peace and stability throughout the Middle East. With the end of the war and the fall of Ottoman government, power vacuums developed and conflicting claims to land and nationhood began to emerge. Sometimes after only cursory consultation with the local population, the political boundaries drawn by the victors of the First World War were quickly imposed, and in many cases are still problematic in the 21st century struggles for national identity. While the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I was a pivotal milestone in the creation of the modern political situation of the Middle East, including especially the Arab-Israeli conflict, the end of Ottoman rule also spawned lesser known disputes over water and other natural resources.

The experiences of the war led to a collective trauma for all participating countries. The optimism of the beautiful era was destroyed and those who fought in the war became known as the Lost Generation. For the next few years, much of Europe mourned. Memorials were erected in thousands of villages and towns. The soldiers returning home from World War I suffered greatly from the horrors they had witnessed. Many returning veterans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, called shell shock at the time.

The social trauma caused by years of fighting manifested itself in different ways. Some people were revolted by nationalism and its results, and so they began to work toward a more internationalist world, supporting organizations such as the League of Nations. Pacifism became increasingly popular. Others had the opposite reaction, feeling that only strength and military might could be relied upon in a chaotic and inhumane world. Anti-modernist views were an outgrowth of the many changes taking place in society. The rise of Nazism and fascism included a revival of the nationalist spirit and a rejection of many post-war changes. The conspiracy theory of betrayal became common and the German public came to see themselves as victims and played a significant role in the rise of Nazism. A sense of disillusionment and cynicism became pronounced, with nihilism growing in popularity. Many believed the war heralded the end of the world as they had known it, including the collapse of capitalism and imperialism. Communist and socialist movements around the world drew strength from this theory and enjoyed a level of popularity they had never known before. These feelings were most pronounced in areas directly or harshly affected by the war.

In order to harness all the power of their societies, new government ministries and powers were created. New taxes were levied and laws enacted, all designed to bolster the war effort; many of which have lasted to this day and we are still paying the price. In Colman McCarthy's words, Warmaking doesn't stop warmaking. If it did, our problems would have stopped millennia ago.

This speech took about 8 minutes to deliver (i should have managed time better by cutting a few details). Stresses and pauses were very effective, body posture and non verbal communication was appreciated.