*** g70 5/8 p. 8 Why There Was World War ***
Had you been living in the springtime of 1914, you would hardly have suspected that the world you knew so well would soon be blasted and disfigured. True, the world was still keeping a watchful eye on the “cockpit of Europe”—the Balkans—where local wars had recently ended. But to all intents the world was at peace and would remain at peace in the foreseeable future.
1) Had you been living in the springtime of 1914, you would hardly have suspected that the world you knew so well would soon be blasted and disfigured.
But if you had been living in the Balkans, you would easily have suspected that bloodshedding would soon happend.
2) Local wars on the Balkans had recently ended.
Wars had not ended! Local wars were transformed in the war between Austria and Russia. Read about "Crna Ruka" ("Black Hand" Organization and Apis, its leader), "Ujedinjenje ili smrt" and other organizations, if you want to understand the background and origin of the WWI. Forget Gavrilo Princip and other fools.