Nearly all of the problems of the mordern world can be traced back to World War One, and World War One can be traced back to the Balkans.
The Balkans, known as the "powder keg of Europe," are the Southeastern region of Europe. This area has changed hands many times. It became Christian under the Roman Empire, and Greek Orthodox under the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire crumbled, and the area became Muslim under the Ottomon Empire. Eventually idnividual Balkan states began to declare their independance in the 1830s (beginning with Serbia).
In 1914, the son of the King of Austria Hungary visited the capital of Bosnia, called Sarjevo. A group called, "The Black Hand" was planning to assinate them. The assination failed. However, the son of the King's driver made a wrong turn, and one of the original asassigns killed him. This sparked World War One.
Germany's defeat in World War One made many Germans unhappy. Because of World War One, the *** were able to gain power, and start World War Two
After World War Two, Germany was divided into East Germany, and West Germany. This became a focal point of the Cold War, and in 1948, the Soviet Union and the United States almost went to war over Germany.
The ethnic tensions of the area caused the break up of Yugoslavia.