I think WWII was very brutal for most European countries. I think they got swallowed by the War Machine. Not pretty. Of course any resources they had were taken. The U.S. has never suffered thru something like that.
I have large Oak trees on my farm that I'd estimate at 150 years old. Hard to tell without harvesting one for the purpose of counting and I wouldn't do that.
I don't have any dangerous wildlife here. South of me 50 miles there are Rattlesnakes and Copperhead snakes. Largest wildlife is White Tail Deer which are harmless. Next would be Coyotes which are also harmless. Then Bobcats, harmless.
Funnily enough our hill is well known here for having lots of adders, which can be quite painful. They were apparently introduced specially to predate the water voles which live like your gophers in the ground. They are a plague if you have root crops.