The First World War not only killed millions of human beings, it also destroyed one of the basic intellectual precepts upon which recent Western Civilization had been founded:

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The belief in progress, which had been a guiding principle of Western Civilization since the Enlightenment, was shattered by the unprecedented levels of destruction and suffering wrought by the First World War. The idea that humanity was steadily advancing towards greater peace, prosperity, and enlightenment was called into question by the brutal reality of trench warfare and the scale of the casualties.

The First World War Not Only Killed Millions of Human