The twentieth century is marked as one of the important eras in history because of significant wars and deaths. The number of individuals who lost lives during the 20th century is estimated as 187 million, equivalent to 10% of the world’s population in 1913 (Nentwig 2237). The First Moroccan Crisis, World War I, and the Great Depression are among the most remarkable events in the early 20th century. Therefore, being a soldier at that time required much determination, effort, and discipline.
I was privileged to work in the military during the early 20th century and witnessed different German events. Munholland (327) explains that the First Moroccan crisis occurred on March 3, 1905, when Kaiser Wilhelm arrived in Morocco to support the sultan. This provoked Britain’s and France’s anger and adversely affected their relations with Germany (Munholland 330). The possibility of being encircled by enemies made the military stay alert at all times. This created tension and hostility between Germany and France because they wanted to control the affairs of Morocco (Munholland 331). As a result, military men experienced significant criticism and were ready to fight and defend their nation. Munholland (334) explains that the First Moroccan crisis played a crucial role in the First World War that occurred between 1914-1918, which was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the century. Williamson (796) explains that Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in 1914 contributed to the conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia and caused WWI. I had not seen many people lose lives in my career as I did during the First World War. The military used new technology such as airplanes, submarines, poison gas, and machine guns to destroy property and kill people. This is the first time I felt the unpredictability of life because I did not know when or how I would be attacked or killed. Consequently, I knew that I would be called upon anytime to participate in the war or help the injured soldiers. The war was gross because it claimed my friends’ and family members’ lives. Twenty million individuals lost their lives, with 9.5 being soldiers and over ten million civilians (Williamson 799). I was lucky to survive but sustained severe injuries from a deadly gas ambush. When the war ended, it caused adverse effects on people and military personnel.
The end of WWI caused severe economic outcomes in different countries worldwide because of property destruction. This resulted in the Great Depression between 1929 and 1939, characterized by high unemployment rates and banks’ collapse (Meltzer 455). As a soldier, I saw people lose lives due to hunger while others closed their businesses. Many families broke up because men could not feed their wives and children. I was personally affected because I had saved some funds in one of the banks that closed. I woke up one morning and was devastated after looking at the area that was once green and beautiful but looked like a desert after WW1 and the Great Depression. However, I was determined to ensure that civilians were protected because I felt that Hitler was unfair to the Jews after being appointed as Germany chancellor in 1933 (Meltzer 456). I always valued other people’s freedom of worship and life; therefore, I did not particularly like killing or forcing people to live in concentrated camps.
One of my most outstanding achievements is when I saved a child from people who wanted to confine them in concentration camps. This is because I understood the heinous acts such as rape and killings that happened in those places. Therefore, I took the baby to my residence, which motivated me to fight for others’ rights. I valued my relationship with people in society, although they had various views about the military. Some people assumed that soldiers were murderers, while others appreciated their efforts towards protecting the community. This posed a challenge to my career because I faced hostility after visiting some of my community’s households. These inhabitants thought that I had gone to spy or attack them. However, I did not blame their approach because I understood their tension after the end of WWI. My experience as military personnel helped me develop new intelligence and defense mechanisms while serving my country. I also learned the essentiality of having a friendly relationship with people. This is because the sour interrelation between Germany and other countries resulted in the loss of military men’s lives.
In conclusion, the disadvantages of being a soldier in the early 20th century exceeded the advantages. This is because many people died, and property was destroyed. I had an opportunity to save a needy child from cruelty, but it was also a challenge to convince people that my primary responsibility was to protect them. However, killing the Jews during the Holocaust adversely affected my view towards Hitler because I believe in the freedom of worship and expression. I did not judge individuals’ thoughts because I understood that they had experienced fear and tension from the war and economic depression.
Works Cited
Meltzer, Allan H. “Monetary and Other Explanations of the Start of the Great Depression.” Journal of Monetary Economics, vol. 2, no. 4, 1976, pp. 455-471. doi:10.1016/0304-3932(76)90043.
Munholland, Kim. “Rival Approaches to Morocco: Delcasse, Lyautey, and the Algerian-Moroccan Border, 1903-1905.” French Historical Studies vol. 5, no. 3, 1968, pp. 328-343. doi:10.2307/286044.
Nentwig, Lutz. “LeMO: A virtual Exhibition of 20th-Century German History.” Computer Networks vol. 31, no. 21, 1999, pp. 2237-2244. doi:10.1016/S1389-1286(99)00099-7.
Williamson, Samuel R. “The Origins of World War I.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History vol. 18, no. 4, 1988 pp. 795-818. doi:10.2307/204825.