The War After the War: Why the End of World War I Did Not Bring Peace to Europe. The armistice of November 11, 1918, ended the dying on the battlefields of World War I, but peace did not return to large parts of Europe with this date. Especially the losers of the war sank into a spiral of violence. In his extensively researched and compellingly written book, Robert Gerwarth highlights the extent of the wars and conflicts that followed the end of World War I and shows why the fate of the defeated is key to understanding the 20th century. The brutality of World War I is firmly embedded in the collective memory of Europe. In contrast, the suffering caused by the numerous civil wars, expulsions, pogroms, and violent confrontations that followed the end of World War I is almost completely forgotten.