Alexander Watson’s remarkable history of the first world war makes clear as never before how this unparalleled conflict impacted on and changed the societies of central Europe, particularly Germany and Austria-Hungary. He argues that from totalitarian dictatorships to genocide, the evils that would later afflict Europe were rooted in this war to end wars. In what was described as a Volkskrieg – a “people’s war” – it is right that Watson doesn’t just focus on the politicians and generals but on the ordinary public. He quotes a poignant letter to the Kaiser at the outbreak of war from a girl pleading to be allowed to fight: “Should a German girl not be permitted to give her blood?” But as Watson shows in this meticulously researched study, such idealism was short-lived. Germany alone lost some two million soldiers and people were unable to come to terms with the unprecedented scale of mass death. The war’s “bitter legacy” poisoned the peace: multi-ethnic communities were torn apart and people no longer trusted their leaders, preparing the ground for “a dark future”.
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