This year marks the 100th anniversary of World War I, which is considered to be the “great seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century.” This anniversary is an important point of reference for the creation of a transnational and global historical consciousness, offering a chance to discuss the roots of and possibilities for European integration.

The online encyclopedia “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 applicable digital work resource. The project is headed by Prof. Dr. Oliver Janz, a historian at the Friedrich Meinecke Institute of Freie Universität Berlin, and Prof. Dr. Nicolas Apostolopoulos, the director of the Center for Digital Systems, Freie Universität Berlin.

The online encyclopedia was presented during a meeting called “World War One goes World Wide Web – 1914–1918-online.” The meeting was jointly organized 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 host. The meeting received financial support from the German Foreign Office and Allianz SE, a German insurance and financial services company.