Dictatorships and Totalitarian rules were established in the countries of Russia, Italy and Germany. Two horrific wars have been fought and caused by European countries, in which countless lives of soldiers and civilians were lost. Genocide was attempted by the Germans on the Jewish race, in which the very worst atrocities against life were carried out, as an estimated six million Jewish people were murdered. Also, advances in science lead to the development of weapons that can pose a global threat, which was highlighted by the Cold War, are but some of the many changes that have occurred in Europe over the past century. However, what is more promising to look at is what has occurred because of these changes. .
When the Aftermath of the Great War and World War 2 was over and life started to return to normal, the European nations decided they had seen enough blood-shed and slaughter, which is why they began to think of preventative's, rather than cures. The League of Nations was proven useless, so to ensure collective security in Europe and through out the world, organisations like the Brussels Pact was established to contain communist aggressors. More importantly to Australia and to much of the democratic world, the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, which was first established in 1949, still proves to this day to be very effective in ensuring peace, however there is still room for improvement. The European Union was originally established in 1950 to bring the six European nations of Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands closer together. The Union was to lay foundations to unite the European people, to improve living conditions and to even out the wealth between these nations. To this day the European Union has 15 members; one of which being Australia, with a further 13 applying for membership, which brings not only trade and a closer understanding of each others culture, but also monitors global issues like energy consumption, pollution and the environment.
