This week marks the 100th anniversary of Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia, which launched The Great War.
I’ve never had as good a working knowledge of the First World War as I do of World War II, for several reasons. It’s older, doesn’t have as conclusive an ending, America did not play as key a role in it, it had a lot of French sounding battles, and the military storyline is more difficult to follow.
That’s not an slight on the importance of the war. To the contrary, WWI was extremely consequential, setting the stage for a second war, twenty years later, and lurking in the background of many other conflicts, extending even to today. It accelerated advancements in technology, transformed the arts, and strengthened the power of government. In many ways, it’s a demarcation line between the old and modern worlds.
I’ve been learning more about it reading anniversary articles, or 100-years-ago-today tweets people are posting on Twitter. I’ve got four years to get caught up.
On a more personal level, I’ve found WWI draft records of two ancestors. The first is from my paternal grandfather in Pennsylvania:
He registered in September, 1918, two months before the war ended. He was 18–already married–working at the Atlas Powder Company. Quite a different lot than I had at that age.
I wonder what he thought of the war at the time? I never asked him about it. He died almost 25 years ago.
The second record is quite different. It’s from my great, great-uncle, a Ukrainian immigrant who lived in Alberta, Canada:
I do not know his story (yet), but it must be an interesting one. His family came from an area that at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (British Canada’s enemy). According to this list, he, along with many other Ukrainians, was sent to an internment work camp earlier in the war. So I wonder if he ever enlisted–or was even allowed to?
One of many stories I’d like to delve into during the centennial.