World War I was the bloodiest the world had ever seen. More than 16 million people perished; 20 million were wounded. The monstrous killing machines of the contending powers were only brought to a halt by revolution and the threat of revolution across Europe. There are two dominant interpretations of the war. The first, peddled by the right wing in Britain and Australia, is that the war was both necessary and honourable. Necessary because democratic Britain had to stand up to Prussian militarism and expansionism. Honourable because it was fought in defence of Belgian neutrality, violated by German forces as they drove westwards en route to Paris in the first week of August 1914. The cost in blood and treasure may have been horrendous, the right wing admits, but Britain and its allies were on the right side of history. This will be the dominant trope in the Abbott government’s $140 million propaganda exercise marking the centenary.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:00:21 +0000
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