War and Peace

World War I, also known as the Great War, began on July 28, 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The war involved many of the world's great powers, divided into two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. Over the next four years, the war would grow to involve dozens of countries and lead to significant changes in political, economic, and social structures worldwide.

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland, marking the beginning of World War II. This invasion prompted France and the United Kingdom to declare war on Germany, expanding the conflict into a global war. The invasion was characterized by the use of blitzkrieg tactics, leading to the swift occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union.

Victory in Europe Day, commonly known as V-E Day, marks the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on May 8, 1945. The surrender marked the end of World War II in Europe, though the war in the Pacific continued until the Japanese surrender in September 1945.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a pivotal moment in the Cold War, beginning on October 16, 1962, when the United States discovered Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The crisis was marked by a 13-day political and military standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the world on the brink of nuclear war. It concluded with a peaceful agreement removing the missiles from Cuba.

The Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War and division between East and West Germany, fell on November 9, 1989, after East Germany announced citizens could cross to the West. This event marked the beginning of the end of the division of Germany and set in motion a series of events that led to the reunification of Germany and the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

On April 6, 1994, the Rwandan Genocide began after the plane carrying President Habyarimana was shot down. This led to the mass slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus by members of the Hutu majority government. Over the course of approximately 100 days, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the genocide, one of the most catastrophic human rights failures of the late 20th century.

On September 11, 2001, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda took place in the United States. Four passenger airplanes were hijacked, with two crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and another into the Pentagon. A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. These attacks caused nearly 3,000 deaths and led to significant changes in US and global security policies.

On March 20, 2003, the United States, supported by the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland, launched an invasion of Iraq. The invasion was based on claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and had links to terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda. The invasion led to a protracted conflict, contributing to significant geopolitical upheaval in the region and globally.

The formal end of the Iraq War was marked on December 18, 2011, when the final US troops withdrew from Iraq. The conflict had begun in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq, aimed at toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein and eliminating purported weapons of mass destruction. The war resulted in significant loss of life, widespread displacement, and long-term regional instability.

On February 20, 2014, the escalation of the Euromaidan protests resulted in a turning point that would lead to the Ukrainian Revolution. Protests initially began in November 2013 over the government's decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the EU. They grew into a broader movement against government corruption and eventually led to the ousting of President Yanukovych and further conflict in Ukraine.