Who Started World War I?

Gerry Sherayko, associate professor of history

The assassination that sparked World War I just over 100 years ago is only one of many complex causes that led up to the war, said Gerry Sherayko, a Randolph history professor.

Understanding the other factors will help people have a better understanding of how the tragedy of the war unfolded.

This weekend, Sherayko will present a lecture on the causes of WWI for Alliance Francaise. The lecture, titled “It wasn’t Just the Assassination: The Origins of the First World War beyond the Fact that Everyone Seems to Know,” looks at the challenges faced by European countries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

During that time, tensions built in the society of each country as well as internationally. Resentment, jealousy, and the desire to prove national power led to an arms race and further tension. “All the leaders thought a quick, victorious war would solve all these problems,” said Sherakyo. “Nobody wanted the war that they got.”

Sherayko’s will deliver the lecture on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College.