by Lorin Bohn

Created on: June 03, 2007

"Could Saving One Life Prevent Two World Wars?"

If I could go back in time and alter the past, I believe I would prevent the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire.

Now most people would ask, of all the important events that have occurred over the last 2,000 years, why intervene in this seemingly trivial murder? Well, this assassination was the impetus for the chain of events that started World War 1.

After the murder of the Archduke, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, who was perceived as a supporter of the Archduke's assassins. Imperial Russia then declared war on Austria to support Serbia which in turn, caused Imperial Germany to declare war on Russia in support of Austria. These declarations of war drew in the rest of Europe and eventually the United States into a conflagration that claimed the lives of over 20,000,000 people.

Incidentally, if Imperial Russia had not become entangled into this disastrous world war, then Communism would have never taken over the country and evolved into a dominate worldwide political force. Over 80 years of political repression, untold human rights violations and an economically crippling arms race could have been avoided.

If this assassination was prevented and World War 1 did not start on June 28, 1914, then Imperial Germany wouldn't have been defeated and the crippling war reparations imposed on her by the Allies wouldn't have occurred. Why is this important? Well, without the defeat of Germany and the social and economic upheaval that followed, then Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party wouldn't have had the opportunity to seize power in Germany and ultimately start World War 2. The destruction and carnage in Europe, Africa and Asia caused the deaths to an estimated 50,000,000 people and caused billions of dollars of damage.

Conversely, if WW1 hadn't occurred, then Japan, our WW1 ally, might not have
experienced a rise in post-war militarism and violent expansionism. Peace in the early 20th century might have contributed to a stable, democratic Japanese government that wouldn't have invaded China in the 1930's and attacked the United States in 1941.

This moment in world history might not have been the choice of most people, but I feel that this event was one of the most pivotal moments of the 20th Century. The assassination of a relatively obscure Austrian royal caused a domino effect to world events and circumstances that is felt worldwide almost 100 years later. Now, the actual events in world history may have differed greater than I have hypothesized if the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand had not occurred. But at least the push that started the dominoes falling would have been removed and an alternative version of world history would have developed. Hopefully, peace and stable governmental rule in the 20th century would have prevailed and millions of lives would have been spared.

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