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“During the whole of those 10 years this process of preparation for war went forward in every land, & in every year. Europe armed itself & governed itself as if it were already @ war, …mov(ing) steadily forward towards the mighty catastrophe, unconscious of the awful deed they were preparing. Meanwhile, the populations amused themselves & carried on their affairs, as if nothing were amiss. The nations were woven together by trade, by travel, by communications, by the interchange of thought & art & literature. The whole 🌎 seemed prosperous & progressive. Yet underneath all this fair appearance the foundations were giving way, & the centres of government & society were being prepared for the explosion already charged.” Winston Churchill, “The World Crisis”