Museum
WWI
enter
WWI
The world was locked in the most devastating war it had ever seen between 1914 and 1918. From a single assassination in Sarajevo, a global war ensued between more than 30 countries, millions of soldiers, and a completely new style of war. Come and visit our National WWI Museum and explore all our rooms to find out all about the causes, wars, revolutions, and results of WWI.
Causes of the war
Click to watch a video to learn more
During the war
technology and conducting the war
Non-European INVOLVEMENTof the War
Russian Revolution
Technology and conducting the war
NON-EUROPEAN INVOLVEMENT
Russian Revolution
MAJOR EFFECTS
Prior to the war, there were many imperial powers in Europe. These were in a fierce struggle for power and control. This struggle for power can be seen in the rise of militarism. This had resulted in a massive arms race between these imperial powers. Nationalism had also taken root among these imperial powers. This nationalism had resulted in many ethnic groups wanting to attain independence. These were all contributing factors to WWI. These factors had all been building for many decades prior to WWI. This shows that WWI was a war that had many contributing factors and can be seen as a war for power and control in Europe.
Propaganda played a significant role in WWI. This is evidenced by the propaganda posters used by many countries. This particular poster shows German soldiers as barbaric and cruel. This poster encourages women to pressure men into fighting for their countries. This shows that WWI was a war fought as much on home soil as on foreign soil. This propaganda ensured that many men were willing to fight for their countries in one of the deadliest wars in history. This shows that WWI was a war fought for nationalism as much as for power and control.
Europe had become divided into two military alliances: the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. These were supposed to protect peace by providing security for one another. However, these military alliances proved to have catastrophic effects on world peace. This is evidenced by the events of 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This proved to be a reaction too late, as all other European countries were drawn into the war within weeks.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. This assassination was carried out by a Bosnian-Serb nationalist. This proved to be the catalyst for WWI. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia as a result of this assassination. This proved to be a reaction too late, as all other European countries were drawn into the war within weeks. This shows that WWI was a war for power and control in Europe.
This artifact shows how chemical warfare brought a new level of horror to World War I as men and animals had to wear gas masks just to survive. The use of poisonous gases such as chlorine and mustard gas resulted in a stalemate on the front lines as it was impossible to advance through the poisoned air. This change to industrial warfare resulted in a much deadlier war and a lasting scar on the men who were forced to fight.
This image shows the Armenian Genocide done by the Ottoman Empire. The genocides main goal was to kill all the Armenians that lived near the Ottoman border since they were scared about Armenia joining the war and supporting Russia. This led the Ottoman government to make the Armenian citizens do the “death march” where they were forced to walk through deserts and mountains, where they eventually ended up dying.
This map shows the alliances during the war. The blue is the Allied power while orange is the Central power. British and French had many overseas armies so the war spread to places like Africa and Asia where they were able to get more support to win.
This artifact shows the Sikes-Picot agreement, which was a deal made in secret by Great Britain and France on how they’ll divide the Middle East after the war. They wanted to control the major trade and oil routes, but this deal caused tons of regional instability and made people relocate countries.
This artifact shows how Ration books were used in the United States. The main goal of this was to make sure there was enough supply of food and gas for the soldiers when they came back from the war. All the citizens that didn’t go to war had to use these tickets to buy things such as meat, sugar, and gas and could only get a limited amount.
This artifact shows the February Revolution of 1917, where millions of people from Petrograd gathered to protest against extreme food shortages and trouble caused by World War 1. The banner translates to “increased rations” for the families of the soldiers, showing how the government and economy was very close to collapsing.
This artifact shows Vladimir Lenin, who was the leader of the Bolshevik party in Russia and promised the people “Peace, Land, and Bread” to gain their support during the 1917 revolution. He was very impactful to Russia since Russia left the war as soon as he came into power and signed a peace treaty with Germany to help his country.
This artifact shows the document Order #1, which was signed by the Petrograd Soviet and removed all powers from military officers and gave power to the committees of common soldiers. It was a direct response to failure during the war since soldiers were being treated poorly and were sent on suicide missions by the elite commanders. This document gave more freedom to the soldiers and treated them much better.
This artifact shows Vladimir Lenin’s new economic policy (NEP), where he retreated from communism and had a mixed economy where the government kept control in major industries and banks, but in return the peasants were allowed to reopen small businesses and sell extra grain to make profit. This change brought Russia out of the economic challenges it faced during the war and stabilized the country.
This artifact shows the territorial changes in Europe after WW1. Countries like Austria-Hungray, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire were all split into multiple different nations such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, and many more.
This system shows the Mandate system created by Great Britain and France after the war. Instead of granting independence to places like Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, they were under the control of League of Nations with the stated goal of “preparing to be independent”, but in reality Europe was mainly trying to control it for their own interest, which led to political tension in the Middle East.
This artifact shows how the US refused to join the League of Nations, which was created to prevent future global conflicts. The image shows a person being tied up by foreign powers, showing that the US was scared of being dragged into European affairs. Due to this reason, the US decided not to join and this ultimately weakened the League of Nations a lot.
This artifact shows the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war in 1919, but created very harsh penalties for Germany that led to more conflict in the future. The treaty made Germany take all responsibilities for the war, pay massive debt, and give up major territories.
The machine gun was one of the most powerful weapons used in World War I, able to fire hundreds of bullets per minute. This led to soldiers having to burrow deep into the ground in order to escape the increased firepower. This led to the long period of trench warfare. This is because the amount of firepower was so high that a small number of soldiers could defend a large amount of land. This made it extremely hard for both sides to make any progress on the battlefield.
The tank was one of the greatest technological advancements during the war. These armored machines could run through the no man's land and crush barbed wire, thereby safeguarding soldiers from the threat of machine gun fire while they advanced. Though slow-moving and prone to breaking down, the tanks were the forerunners of modern warfare.
This chart illustrates the high death rates encountered during World War I, emphasizing how countries such as Russia and Austria-Hungary lost their entire mobilized force fighting the war. These high percentages were due to the effectiveness of weapons such as machine guns on traditional military tactics. The loss of young men in Europe resulted in a lost generation and created social and economic instability for many years after the war.
Museum
Vikranth Kolluru
Created on April 2, 2026
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Practical Microsite
View
Essential Microsite
View
Akihabara Microsite
View
Essential CV
View
Akihabara Resume
View
Momentum: Manager Guide
View
Momentum: First Operational Steps
Explore all templates
Transcript
Museum
WWI
enter
WWI
The world was locked in the most devastating war it had ever seen between 1914 and 1918. From a single assassination in Sarajevo, a global war ensued between more than 30 countries, millions of soldiers, and a completely new style of war. Come and visit our National WWI Museum and explore all our rooms to find out all about the causes, wars, revolutions, and results of WWI.
Causes of the war
Click to watch a video to learn more
During the war
technology and conducting the war
Non-European INVOLVEMENTof the War
Russian Revolution
Technology and conducting the war
NON-EUROPEAN INVOLVEMENT
Russian Revolution
MAJOR EFFECTS
Prior to the war, there were many imperial powers in Europe. These were in a fierce struggle for power and control. This struggle for power can be seen in the rise of militarism. This had resulted in a massive arms race between these imperial powers. Nationalism had also taken root among these imperial powers. This nationalism had resulted in many ethnic groups wanting to attain independence. These were all contributing factors to WWI. These factors had all been building for many decades prior to WWI. This shows that WWI was a war that had many contributing factors and can be seen as a war for power and control in Europe.
Propaganda played a significant role in WWI. This is evidenced by the propaganda posters used by many countries. This particular poster shows German soldiers as barbaric and cruel. This poster encourages women to pressure men into fighting for their countries. This shows that WWI was a war fought as much on home soil as on foreign soil. This propaganda ensured that many men were willing to fight for their countries in one of the deadliest wars in history. This shows that WWI was a war fought for nationalism as much as for power and control.
Europe had become divided into two military alliances: the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. These were supposed to protect peace by providing security for one another. However, these military alliances proved to have catastrophic effects on world peace. This is evidenced by the events of 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This proved to be a reaction too late, as all other European countries were drawn into the war within weeks.
On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. This assassination was carried out by a Bosnian-Serb nationalist. This proved to be the catalyst for WWI. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia as a result of this assassination. This proved to be a reaction too late, as all other European countries were drawn into the war within weeks. This shows that WWI was a war for power and control in Europe.
This artifact shows how chemical warfare brought a new level of horror to World War I as men and animals had to wear gas masks just to survive. The use of poisonous gases such as chlorine and mustard gas resulted in a stalemate on the front lines as it was impossible to advance through the poisoned air. This change to industrial warfare resulted in a much deadlier war and a lasting scar on the men who were forced to fight.
This image shows the Armenian Genocide done by the Ottoman Empire. The genocides main goal was to kill all the Armenians that lived near the Ottoman border since they were scared about Armenia joining the war and supporting Russia. This led the Ottoman government to make the Armenian citizens do the “death march” where they were forced to walk through deserts and mountains, where they eventually ended up dying.
This map shows the alliances during the war. The blue is the Allied power while orange is the Central power. British and French had many overseas armies so the war spread to places like Africa and Asia where they were able to get more support to win.
This artifact shows the Sikes-Picot agreement, which was a deal made in secret by Great Britain and France on how they’ll divide the Middle East after the war. They wanted to control the major trade and oil routes, but this deal caused tons of regional instability and made people relocate countries.
This artifact shows how Ration books were used in the United States. The main goal of this was to make sure there was enough supply of food and gas for the soldiers when they came back from the war. All the citizens that didn’t go to war had to use these tickets to buy things such as meat, sugar, and gas and could only get a limited amount.
This artifact shows the February Revolution of 1917, where millions of people from Petrograd gathered to protest against extreme food shortages and trouble caused by World War 1. The banner translates to “increased rations” for the families of the soldiers, showing how the government and economy was very close to collapsing.
This artifact shows Vladimir Lenin, who was the leader of the Bolshevik party in Russia and promised the people “Peace, Land, and Bread” to gain their support during the 1917 revolution. He was very impactful to Russia since Russia left the war as soon as he came into power and signed a peace treaty with Germany to help his country.
This artifact shows the document Order #1, which was signed by the Petrograd Soviet and removed all powers from military officers and gave power to the committees of common soldiers. It was a direct response to failure during the war since soldiers were being treated poorly and were sent on suicide missions by the elite commanders. This document gave more freedom to the soldiers and treated them much better.
This artifact shows Vladimir Lenin’s new economic policy (NEP), where he retreated from communism and had a mixed economy where the government kept control in major industries and banks, but in return the peasants were allowed to reopen small businesses and sell extra grain to make profit. This change brought Russia out of the economic challenges it faced during the war and stabilized the country.
This artifact shows the territorial changes in Europe after WW1. Countries like Austria-Hungray, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire were all split into multiple different nations such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, and many more.
This system shows the Mandate system created by Great Britain and France after the war. Instead of granting independence to places like Iraq, Syria, and Palestine, they were under the control of League of Nations with the stated goal of “preparing to be independent”, but in reality Europe was mainly trying to control it for their own interest, which led to political tension in the Middle East.
This artifact shows how the US refused to join the League of Nations, which was created to prevent future global conflicts. The image shows a person being tied up by foreign powers, showing that the US was scared of being dragged into European affairs. Due to this reason, the US decided not to join and this ultimately weakened the League of Nations a lot.
This artifact shows the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war in 1919, but created very harsh penalties for Germany that led to more conflict in the future. The treaty made Germany take all responsibilities for the war, pay massive debt, and give up major territories.
The machine gun was one of the most powerful weapons used in World War I, able to fire hundreds of bullets per minute. This led to soldiers having to burrow deep into the ground in order to escape the increased firepower. This led to the long period of trench warfare. This is because the amount of firepower was so high that a small number of soldiers could defend a large amount of land. This made it extremely hard for both sides to make any progress on the battlefield.
The tank was one of the greatest technological advancements during the war. These armored machines could run through the no man's land and crush barbed wire, thereby safeguarding soldiers from the threat of machine gun fire while they advanced. Though slow-moving and prone to breaking down, the tanks were the forerunners of modern warfare.
This chart illustrates the high death rates encountered during World War I, emphasizing how countries such as Russia and Austria-Hungary lost their entire mobilized force fighting the war. These high percentages were due to the effectiveness of weapons such as machine guns on traditional military tactics. The loss of young men in Europe resulted in a lost generation and created social and economic instability for many years after the war.