Was WWII the most pivotal event of the 20th century?

Gavrilo Princip started all of it.

Probably WWI and the Russian revolution.

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The tensions were already at boiling level. If he didn’t kill the Archduke, the war may have started anyway

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i agree, but as it actually happened, my opinion is that Gavrilo Princip's assassination of the Archduke in 1914 is the pivotal event of the century because it triggered everything else

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The tensions were already at boiling level. If he didn’t kill the Archduke, the war may have started anyway

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Yep. WWI was happening no matter what.

The Merchants of Death theory is also pretty interesting, that various arms dealers (and their investors) were pressuring countries to go to war with each other.

Russia getting destroyed in the Battle of Tsushima set the wheels in motion for a lot of future 20th century events. This was a devastating blow to the Romanovs and fostered the environment that led to the Russian Revolution.

Also, Japan's victory gave them the confidence to get a lot bolder and more aggressive with their expansion goals. This ultimately led to the Pacific War.

I think the invention of the computer/internet or of nuclear weapons or space travel will ultimately have a greater impact on the world.

Now that I think about it, at least two of those things, maybe all, were a direct result of WWII. So, yes WWII was pivotal indeed.

WWII was a result of WWI, which was the actual pivotal event of not only the 20th century, but the most transformative event in perhaps since the opening of the New World in 1492

1. Collapse of the Empire System
- fall of the German Empire
- fall of the Russian Empire
- fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
- fall of the Ottoman Empire

2. The US replaced Britain as the worlds economic superpower

3. The rise of communism as a global force

4. Transformation of western civilization with women entering the workplace, and subsequently gaining political power

5. The birth of the Middle East as it’s known today.

6. The rise of air power and mechanized land warfare


That only a few of the changes WWI brought that I can think of off the top of my head.

1- Chicken’s birth








2- WWI/WWII, as I believe, like a poster above, much of the cause of the WWII was the outcome and immediate aftermath of WWI.

Expand the time frame to include The Great Depression and you pretty much encompass everything that has greatly impacted the way the world is now since WWII probably wouldn't have occurred without the depression of the 1930s causing so much hardship and discord on the general population worldwide. Hitler would probably have remained a derelict failed artist without a national financial crisis that needed someone to blame. Japan would more than likely have remained a good trading partner with the West and not sought to expand its influence and dominance throughout the Pacific had they not been between a rock and a hard place due to the depression of the 1930s.

But you're probably correct insofar as the single most identifiable pivotal event of the 20th century being the Second World War since it was ultimately the full resolution and corrective action that was the result of hitting an economic rock bottom on a global scale.

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1910 meeting at Jekyll Island

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Bingo