A quote from Kotkin on how World War I made it so much easier for totalitarian regimes to slaughter millions:
Whereas European rulers and generals knowingly sent millions to their deaths for God knows what, Lenin could assert that he was willing to sacrifice millions for what now, thanks to the imperialist war, looked more than ever like a just cause: peace and social justice.
The trivial war made people more likely to support non – trivial causes. If they were to die, at least it would be for something worthwhile.
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