It Was the Year of the Centenary
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Photo copyright Getty Images
It’s a common trope that the 20th-century — and with it, the modern era — didn’t really start until the outbreak of the First World War (represented in the images above and below).
This year we marked the centenary of that event, ushering in not only the second century of the modern era, but a whole century of centenaries. In the coming years we’ll look back at major events like the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression and the beginning of the Second World War, along with countless less major milestones.
In other words, we’re about to live the 20th century over again in retrospective, and perhaps change our understanding of the modern world in the process.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
