The World War and What was Behind It

World War and What was
Behind It, by Louis P. Benezet

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Title: The World War and What was Behind It The Story of the Map of
Europe
Author: Louis P. Benezet
Release Date: February 20, 2004 [EBook #11200]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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WORLD WAR ***

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THE WORLD WAR AND WHAT WAS BEHIND IT
or

THE STORY OF THE MAP OF EUROPE
By
L. P. BENEZET
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, EVANSVILLE, INDIANA
[Illustration: The Peace Palace at the Hague]

PREFACE
This little volume is the result of the interest shown by pupils, teachers,
and the general public in a series of talks on the causes of the great
European war which were given by the author in the fall of 1914. The
audiences were widely different in character. They included pupils of
the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, students in high school and
normal school, teachers in the public schools, an association of
business men, and a convention of boards of education. In every case,
the same sentiment was voiced: "If there were only some book which
would give us these facts in simple language and illustrate them by
maps and charts as you have done!" After searching the market for a
book of this sort without success, the author determined to put the
subject of his talks into manuscript form. It has been his aim to write in
a style which is well within the comprehension of the children in the
upper grades and yet is not too juvenile for adult readers. The book
deals with the remarkable sequence of events in Europe which made
the great war inevitable. Facts are revealed which, so far as the author
knows, have not been published in any history to date; facts which had
the strongest possible bearing on the outbreak of the war. The average
American, whether child or adult, has little conception of conditions in
Europe. In America all races mix. The children of the Polish Jew
mingle with those of the Sicilian, and in the second generations both
peoples have become Americans. Bohemians intermarry with Irish,
Scotch with Norwegians. In Europe, on the other hand, Czech and
Teuton, Bulgar and Serb may live side by side for centuries without

mixing or losing their distinct racial characteristics. In order that the
American reader may understand the complicated problem of European
peace, a study of races and languages is given in the text, showing the
relationship of Slav, Celt, Latin, and Teuton, and the various
sub-divisions of these peoples. A knowledge of these facts is very
essential to any understanding of the situation in Europe. The author
has pointed out the fact that political boundaries are largely king-made,
and that they have seldom been drawn with regard to the natural
division of Europe by nationalities, or to the wishes of the mass of the
population.
The chapter, entitled "Europe as it Should Be," with its accompanying
map, shows the boundaries of the various nations as they would look if
the bulk of the people of each nationality were included in a single
political division. In many places, it is, of course, impossible to draw
sharp lines. Greek shades off into Bulgar on one side and into Skipetar
and Serb on the other. Prague, the capital of the Czechs, is one-third
German in its population. There are large islands of Germans and
Magyars in the midst of the Roumanians of Transylvania. These are a
few examples out of many which could be cited. However, the general
aim of the chapter has been to divide the continent into nations, in each
of which the leading race would vastly predominate in population.
It is hoped that the study of this little work will not only throw light
upon the causes of war in general, but will also reveal its cruelty and its
needlessness. It is shown that the history of Europe from the time of the
great invasions by the Germanic tribes has been a continuous story of
government without the consent of the governed.
A preventive for wars, such as statesmen and philanthropists in many
countries have urged, is outlined in the closing chapter. It would seem
as though after this terrible demonstration of the results of armed peace,
the governments of the world would be ready to listen to some plan
which would forever forbid the possibility of another war.