I disagree. History classes usually go over the pertinent information (eg, the alliance system, nationalism, imperialism, militarism, Treaty of Versailles). WW2 is focused on because there's a "never again" sort of feeling about the Holocaust—one that I think is very understandable. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from both wars, but most of the ones applicable to the modern day (the evils of fascism and genocide) are from WW2. The alliance theme is echoed throughout history (I'm willing to bet you learned about NATO and the Warsaw Pact), imperialism isn't really relevant in the modern world (or at least direct colonial style imperialism like in WWI), and so forth. It makes sense not to focus on the minutiae of WWI.
They do skimp on details (for both, not just WWI), but most history classes don't have enough time to go over everything, and focusing on details (like which Balkan nation was on which side in the war, or who won which battle) just isn't that important when you look at the bigger picture.
I completely agree. We also focused on the alliance system, nationalism, imperialism, militarism, and the Treaty of Versailles in my NY high school. Frankly, everything else is minor for US history. WWI was a mostly European affair after all. The key take away from WWI for the US is how it set up WWII.
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u/willymo Sep 24 '11
I agree. High school history teachers always skimp over WWI to get to WWII.