How Much Do You Know About 20th Century Europe?

Political upheavals of all kinds shook Europe in this century. Before the century was half gone, two world wars had forever altered the continent’s history.

In 1914, World War I began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The Great War was meant to be the last war, but instead, it sparked a drive toward even greater menace.

Cubism brought new lines, angles, and aesthetics to paintings in the early 20th century. The concept took hold thanks to artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

The Great War was all-consuming. The ideals of the Renaissance were set aside amid the propaganda of fear and hatred.

In Europe, World War I was often portrayed as an adventure — the last Great War to be fought on the continent. Later, that sentiment would change in untold ways.

In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union (EU), a border-smashing political move that revolutionized trade and travel within European countries.

The revolution in Russia led to a Communist takeover, led by none other than Joseph Stalin. He became the ultimate leader of the Soviet Union and led his nation to war.

As if WWI wasn’t bad enough, a terrible Spanish influenza pandemic swept the world. Between the war and the flu, millions of lives were lost, shifting the demographics of all European countries.

After the war, Europe was very much divided between the democratic ideas of the West and the Communist line of the East. The friction caused immense social strife.

Millions of men lost their lives during the brutal conflict. The result? Not enough men to go around in Europe. Sometimes, the issue was called a "surplus of women."

Germany was divided into East and West Germany following the war. Berlin was split, too, by the infamous Berlin Wall, which became a symbol of Communist oppression.

Planes were a brand-new technology in WWI. Air raids left a distinct impression on soldiers and civilians alike and increased the horror and breadth of the war for everyone.

In 1920, the League of Nations was born. It was an early version of the United Nations and meant to forge a more lasting peace in the region.

France and Britain made sure the that war’s aggressor — Germany — suffered greatly under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. But it was clear to many that the treaty was simply setting the stage for more conflict.

The Treaty of Versailles harshly dealt with Germany, implementing high reparations and restricting the country from raising any sort of real army ... a detail that Hitler decided to overlook in the 1930s.

Before WWI, Europeans were actually kind of excited for the Great War. But in the years before the Second World War, they knew they were grimly striding toward a bloodbath of the worst kind. They began manufacturing arms at a frantic pace, all the better to kill each other.

Most European countries weren’t too keen on the League of Nations following WWI. As a result, the organization never really gained traction in its peaceful aims.

Roughly 8 million men perished during WWI. Twice that many were wounded, many with horrific disfiguring injuries. It’s no wonder that European perceptions of war changed after the Armistice.

Perhaps 20 million Europeans — twice the number of WWI — died during WWII. At least 6 million of them perished in German extermination camps.

In both world wars, de Gaulle was a hero of France. His war exploits and political abilities made him one of the most powerful European presidents in the 20th century.

After WWI, the Soviet-controlled East faced off against the West across the Iron Curtain, the dividing line between the territories. The Iron Curtain didn’t dissolve until the USSR did ... in 1991.

The League of Nations had some lofty ideals, but it failed in part because every nation had veto power. It was nearly impossible to pass a measure of any real weight.

Before the war, Britain was the world’s biggest creditor; following the war, the country was the biggest debtor on Earth, all because Britain fought to survive Axis aggression.

Today, we can’t fathom the destruction of European cities during WWII. Some countries had been fought over not once, but twice. Many major cities weren’t much more than ruins.

In the years following WWII, many new plans for rebuilding and maintaining prosperity took hold. And as such, economic policies moved more under the control of central government.

After WWII, the world again came together with an organization meant to prevent yet another worldwide war. In spite of its many shortcomings, the U.N. has at least succeeded on that count.

German men died by the droves in WWII, creating a major imbalance in the sexes. Right after the war, there were 7 million more women than men in the country.

After the war, U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall proposed an economic aid package meant to help Europe recover from the war. The Marshall Plan’s success not only helped people get their lives back, it helped keep the Soviets at bay.

In 2004, the EU added 10 new nations to its rolls, such as Poland and the Czech Republic. The additions had huge economic and military implications for the entire region.

So much for the EU's progress in the 20th century. In 2016, Britain’s voters made the shocking decision to leave the EU. Britain’s withdrawal from the collective will undoubtedly have long-lasting effects throughout all of Europe.