1940s—1950s: Paul Celan's parents are deported from Czernowitz, Romania, to a concentration camp, where they die.

Today: Only a few regimes in the world, such as North Korea, incarcerate large numbers of people in concentration camps.

1940s—1950s: Existentialism and surrealism are important political and artistic movements in Paris, influencing artists, writers, and thinkers throughout the world.

Today: Postmodernism dominates critically acclaimed culture and thought.

1940s—1950s: The free world is locked in a struggle against Nazi fascism, followed by a confrontation with Soviet communism.

Today: With the collapse of communism, the free world confronts the challenge of international terrorism.

1940s—1950s: Poets and writers use books and magazines to disseminate their stories, essays, and novels to a text-centered audience.

Today: In addition to books and magazines, poets, writers, and musicians use Internet weblogs, websites, and file-swapping to get...