The Ridgefield Historical Society has installed the first of a series of exhibits devoted to the 100th anniversary of the “War to End All Wars.”

Entitled So the War Begins, the installation uses photos, newspaper articles and maps to present the events leading up to and immediately following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.

It discusses the tense relationship between the European powers, and how treaties originally intended to prevent war actually encouraged it.

As with most things that happen in the Balkans, there’s more than one interpretation.

One Ridgefielder with Croat roots took issue with the implied conclusion that Germany was largely responsible for the escalation from a small regional terrorist event to the greatest war the world had ever known. In his opinion, Russia was far more culpable than the exhibit suggests.

After 100 years, it’s still open to debate.

The post The ‘war begins’ at town hall exhibit appeared first on The Ridgefield Press.