-80000000 -65000000 dñThe two World Wars of the 20th century led to an unparalleled scale of destruction.ñ
The First World War (1914-18) and the Second World War (1939-45) were the two most bloody conflicts in history. Perhaps as many as 13 million people were killed in the First World War, while over 50 million people died in the second, many of them civilians. The 1914-18 war was the first conflict where modern technology played a prominent role - a factor which helped contribute to the large casualty figures. The Second World War not only covered a far greater geographical area than the First World War, but involved civilians directly in the fighting. Attacks by bomber aircraft on cities, for example, ensured that men, women, and children were all equally vulnerable. In addition, the Nazi regime of Germany deliberately targeted whole peoples it wished to exterminate, most notably the Jews. Approximately 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis before 1945. The sheer scale of destruction caused by the Second World War was a major factor in the development of such organizations as the United Nations and the European Community.
