By 1914, Europe had enjoyed a century of relative peace. Idealists hoped for a permanent end to the scourge of war. International events, such as the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the first Universal Peace Conference in 1899, were steps toward keeping the peace. "The future belongs to peace," said the French economist Frédéric Passy.
Not everyone was so hopeful, "I shall not live to see the Great War," warned German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, "but you will see it, and it will start in the east." It was Bismarck's prediction, rather than Passy's, that came true.