New Online Encyclopaedia Devoted to World War I is Now Accessible

A new encyclopaedia includes contributions from 1,000 experts from 54 countries.

A comprehensive, English-language, open access encyclopedia of what was deemed the “Great War” was introduced and released on Wednesday 8^th October, in Brussels. The project “1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War” is managed by researchers at Freie Universität Berlin in cooperation with the Bavarian State Library. It is funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). The encyclopaedia combines the latest historical research with the many advantages of the Semantic Web. The content was written and compiled by 1,000 experts from 54 countries, and is continuously being updated and expanded.

This year marks the centenary of World War I, which is considered to be the “great seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century”. This anniversary is an important reference point for the creation of a transitional and global historical consciousness, offering a chance to discuss the roots of and possibilities for European integration.

The online encyclopaedia “1914-1918-online” provides a comprehensive description of the “Great War” from a pan-European and global perspective. It is a user-friendly and easily allocable digital work resource. Prof. Dr. Oliver Janz, a historian at the Friedrich Meinecke Institute of Freie Universität de Berlin, along with Prof. Dr. Nicholas Apostolopoulos, the director of the Centre for Digital Systems, Freie Universität de Berlin have led the project.

The online encyclopaedia was presented during a meeting called “World War One goes World Wide Web- 1914-1918-online.” The meeting was jointly organised by the Berlin Senate Chancellery, the European minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, Freie Universität Berlin, and the Committee of the Regions, which also functioned as a host. The meeting received financial support from the German Foreign Office and Allianz SE, a German insurance and financial services company.

Contributing Source: Freie Universität Berlin

Header Image Source: Wikimedia