1939: In Argentina, President Robert M. Ortiz tried to establish democracy in a mostly Fascist country, partly to remedy its economic difficulties.

Today: Since 1989, Carlos Saul Menem, elected president of Argentina, has successfully pulled Argentina back from the brink of economic despair. He has balanced the budget and imposed an austerity program to curb inflation, which had been running at 900 percent in the 1980s. With diplomatic relations restored with Great Britain after a falling-out over the Falkland Islands in 1982, Argentina is well on its way to establishing itself as a positive economic power in South America.

1939: Europe mobilized for inevitable war with Germany. Hitler invaded Poland and Czechoslovakia.

Today: Although the Balkan area remains a military hot spot, decisive action on the part of NATO has prevented the conflict from intensifying and spreading to other countries.

1939: Modernist literature expressed a sense of pessimism and exhaustion...