It’s been exactly 100 years since the world saw the first deadly attack with chemical weapons. The Germans deployed tons of chlorine gas on a sector of the Western front in World War I, causing 6,000 casualties. Now chlorine gas is back on the battlefield, in Syria.
One of The World’s audio engineers, Jane Pipik, didn’t know a whole lot about her Great Uncle Frank growing up. He died just at the end of World War I, but she never knew of his heroism — until a retired Belgian military officer took it upon himself to find her family.
World War I began in Europe 100 years ago this summer. That conflict is still hugely important to people there, and the war looms large in a lot of popular culture. Think Downton Abbey. Americans on the other hand, for the most part, couldn’t care less. The World’s history guy, Chris Woolf, explains the different takes.World War I began in Europe 100 years ago this summer. That conflict is still hugely important to people there, and the war looms large in a lot of popular culture. Think Downton Abbey. Americans on the other hand, for the most part, couldn’t care less. The World’s history guy, Chris Woolf, explains the different takes.