1-WWI+New+Eastern+Europe

__** Poland **__ >>> The Polish state was freed from previous domination and established their own democratic government in 1922 following the Polish Soviet War. However, due to economic and social distress accompanied by the rise of German Nazism and Soviet Communism, Joseph Pilsduski assumed the role of virtual dictator in 1926. In addition, a new constitution was created that granted overwhelming authority to the presidential position. But uncertainty grew over the constitution when Pulsudski died in May 1935. Therefore, the elite politicians in Poland consolidated power and implemented a “non-party” system following the elections of 1935. In further response, the Camp of National Unity (OZN) took control in 1937 in order to spread their ideas of principles based on nationalism, social justice, and organization. Furthermore, the Polish military restructured itself in order to increase mobility of their elite cavalry units in case of attack by either German Nazis or Soviet Communists.
 * ** What were the conditions for the creation of the Polish state in 1919, and to what extent was it a representation of Wilson’s 14 Points ? **
 * Creation of the Polish states was one of the byproducts of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919
 * Treaty of Versailles
 * Borders were fixed in 1922 after the Polish Soviet War
 * “An independent [|Polish] state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.” (13th point)
 * For the Poles, the demarcation of their territorial lines was the most important aspect
 * Satisfy history and allow survival
 * Most of West Prussia was ceded to Poland and Province of Posen
 * Granted access to Baltic Sea through “Polish Corridor”
 * Done without plebiscite (referendum or vote)
 * Eastern part of Upper Silesia was assigned to Poland, but with only 45% approval
 * Soldau of East Prussia held a crucial railway junction and was ceded to Poland without a plebiscite
 * Map of Poland: []
 * Khan Academy Video: Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points
 * [] skip to 12:40 for 13th point
 * ** What were the causes & effects of the Polish Soviet War of 1919-21? **
 * Polish Soviet War occurred from February of 1919 to March 1921
 * It was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine against the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People’s Republic over what is considered modern day Ukraine and Belarus
 * //__ Causes __//
 * Polish leader Jozef Pilsudski decided that it was time to expand Polish borders as far east as possible
 * Polish led Intermarium federation of East-Central-European states as a defensive tactic against the possible resurgence of German and Russian Imperial Powers
 * Intermarium would be comprised of Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), Finland, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia
 * Lenin viewed Poland as an obstacle the Red Army had to overcome in order to assist other communist movements and to catalyze other European revolutions
 * The Polish emerged victorious from the Polish-Ukrainian War and held control of much of Western Ukraine
 * Collapse of Russian Empire leading to a civil war and Bolshevik Revolution
 * Formation of the Second Polish Republic and the acquisition of contested territories between Poland and Russia by Poland
 * Poland was unstable politically and was hopping from conflict to conflict
 * West Ukrainian National Republic to conflict with Germany and Czechoslovakia
 * Soviets viewed the war as an opportunity to spread the revolution into west Europe
 * Polish mathematicians from Warsaw University were able to decode Russian ciphers over radio-waves and realized that the Soviet peace proposals with Poland in 1919 were false and they were actually preparing for a strike against Poland
 * //__ Effects __//
 * Soviet leaders abandoned the cause of international revolution
 * 20 years before the Bolsheviks would send their armies abroad to cause a revolution
 * After peace negotiations, Poland did not maintain all the territories it had controlled at the end of the hostilities due to their losses at the Battle of Warsaw
 * Soviets offered the Polish peace delegation territorial concession in the contested borders
 * Polish resources were depleted and Polish public opinion opposed any prolongation of war
 * Death blow to the Miedzymorze (Intermarium) project
 * one million poles remained in Soviet Russia and were persecuted due to political and religious reasons
 * Peace of Riga signed on March 18, 1921 split the disputed territories in Belarus and Ukraine between Poland and Russia
 * Tensions worsened between Poland and the Ukrainian minority
 * those who supported Petilura were angered by the betrayal of their Polish ally and the assimilation policies towards minorities
 * Influenced Polish-military doctrine that would place emphasis on the mobility of elite cavalry unit
 * ** How did the Polish state respond to being placed in between the rise of German Nazism and of Soviet Communism? What were the consequences for Wilson’s principle of democratic national self-determination? **

The idea of national self-determination drove the Polish people to label all areas that are occupied by an overwhelming Polish population. However, this often coincided with contested territories and infringed upon what the Soviets believed was rightfully theirs. The idea of self-determination therefore caused the Polish people to fight for the disputed areas and combat the expansionist views of German Nazism and Soviet Communism.
 * Quote by President Woodrow Wilson
 * "National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent. Self determination is not a mere phrase; it is an imperative principle of action. . . . "

Works Cited:
 * Biskupski, M. B. "Re-Creating Central Europe: The United States 'Inquiry' into the Future of Poland in 1918." 2nd ser. 12 (1990): 249-79. JSTOR. Web. 05 Oct. 2013. <[|__http://www.jstor.org/stable/40106179__]>.
 * Medoff, Rafael. "America, the Holocaust, and the Abandonment of the Jews." Journal of Ecumenical Studies 4.40 (2003): n. pag. Questia School. Web. 05 Oct. 2013. <[|__http://www.questiaschool.com/read/1G1-136342697/america-the-holocaust-and-the-abandonment-of-the__]>.
 * "The Russian Revolutions of 1917; The Russian Civil War; the Revolutions in Finland, Hungary and Germany; the Polish-Soviet War." Kansas University. Acienciala Faculty, 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <[|__http://acienciala.faculty.ku.edu/communistnationssince1917/ch2.html__]>
 * "Modern History Sourcebook: Woodrow Wilson:Speech on the Fourteen Points Jan 8, 1918." Modern History Sourcebook: Woodrow Wilson: Fourteen Points, 1918. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <[|__http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1918wilson.html__]>.
 * Throntveit, Trygve. 2011. The Fable of the Fourteen Points: Woodrow Wilson and National Self-Determination. Diplomatic History 35, no. 3: 445-481. <[|__http://scholar.harvard.edu/throntveit/publications/fable-fourteen-points-woodrow-wilson-and-national-self-determination__]>

- Mandate System - It is when people in the country have power to do whatever they want until the government doesn't like what they are doing. After: From 1923 to 1938, Mustafa Kemal's work was mainly leading the Turkish State and its people along the path in the direction of the outside civilized world. The ideal of an independent fatherland within national boundaries had already been achieved before 1922 and therefore the idea of a truly modern state, whose role relied on the sovereignty of its people, could be developed by the most rational means available during this period.
 * Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean:**
 * Mandate system in the former Ottoman lands in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf region.
 * In the early years of the 20th century, Palestine was becoming a place where countries had political interest. The Ottoman Empire was weakening whereas the European powers had most of the eastern Mediterranean in their hands, including Palestine.
 * McMahon, a high British commissioner in Egypt, convinced Husayn, the patriarch of the Hashemite family, to lead a Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire, which was aligned with Germany against Britain and France in the war.
 * McMahon promised that if the Arabs supported Britain in the war, the British government would support the establishment of an independent Arab state under Hashemite rule in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine.
 * The Arab revolt was successful in defeating the Ottomans. In return, Britain took control over most of this area during WW1.
 * Palestine was part of the League of nations so it wasn't independent.
 * Syria was also part of the mandate system, specifically the class A mandate system.
 * Class A mandates were those to be provisionally recognized as independent until they proved able to stand on their own.
 * These were to be supervised by the Permanent Mandates commission consisting originally of members of Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, to which representatives from Switzerland were later added, and a representative from Norway took the place of the Swedish representative.
 * France got Syria
 * France split its mandate into Syria and Lebanon to enhance the position of Uniate Christians in Lebanon and as part of its overall strategy of sponsoring communal differences to solidify its position of eventual arbiter of all disputes in the area.
 * Versailles treaty and its effect on the mandate system
 * The Versailles treaty, as a whole, ended World war I between Germany and the Allied powers.
 * Article 22 in the Versailles treaty established a system of Mandates to administer former colonies and territories.
 * It altered boundaries of several European nations and forced Germany to pay financial reparations, undergo disarmament, and relinquish its colonies. This treaty also created the League of Nations.
 * This was mainly to have powers, specifically Britain and France, to split the countries of the countries that they control. In addition, they used these countries as a means of pulling the debt off their hands because coming in to the war, both had big debts on them. These colonies, were heavily abundant in oil which helped them pay off their debt. (One of the main reasons that both choose countries that were located the Persian gulf and Eastern Mediterranean regions.)
 * Reform efforts pursued by “the Father of the Turks”, Mustafa Kemal
 * He was the founder of the Turkish empire.
 * Between 1918 - 1923, Mustafa Kemal was at the forefront of the Turkish War of Independence and involved with the eradication of the antiquated institutions of the Ottoman Empire and in laying the foundations of the new Turkish State. He approached the National Congresses of Erzurum and Sivas to organize and lift the morale of the people in its determined opposition to the Forces of the Entente who were occupying Anatolia.
 * After the occupation of Istanbul by the Forces of the Entente he laid the foundations for the new Turkish State when in 1920 he united the Great National Assembly in Ankara.
 * With the government of the Great National Assembly, of which he was President, Mustafa Kemal fought the Forces of the Entente and the Sultan's army which had remained there in collaboration with the occupying forces.
 * Finally, on September 9th 1922, he succeeded in driving the Allied Forces back to Izmir, along with the other forces which had managed to penetrate the heartland of Anatolia. By this action he saved the country from invasion by foreign forces.
 * Causes of the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-22
 * The victorious powers coming out of WW1 (Great Britain, France, Italy and the USA), set about to partition the empire, especially the areas inhabited by Turkish populations.
 * ==== The western Allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire if Greece entered the war on the Allied side. These included Eastern Thrace, the islands of Imbros, Tenedos, and parts of western Anatolia around the city of Smyrna, which contained fairly large ethnic Greek populations. ====
 * Effects of the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-22
 * The Turkish-Greek conflict caused hundreds of thousands of persons of Greek origin to flee Asia Minor, while thousands of people of Turkish origin fled Thrace for Turkey.
 * It ended with Greece giving up all territory gained during the war and returning to its pre-war borders.

To what extent was the Greco-Turkish wars acts of ethnic cleansing extensions of the Great war and post war conditions?
 * The ethnic Turks had lived in Greece since the 1500s, and the ethnic Greeks had lived in Anatolia more than the 1500s. Before they didn’t have this conflict but now, they had the larger context of the Great War to promote them.
 * Firstly, the war arose because the western Allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, had promised Greece territorial gains at the expense of the Ottoman Empire if Greece entered the war on the Allied side. These included Eastern Thrace, the islands of Imvros and Tenedos and parts of western Anatolia around the city of Smyrna (İzmir) where ethnic Greeks formed the majority of the population.
 * Woodrow Wilson's 12th point - “The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.”

__Bibliography:__ Author. "The British Mandate in Palestine | Middle East Research and Information Project." MERIP Home | Middle East Research and Information Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. .

Gale Encyclopedia of the Mideast & N. Africa. "Mandate System." Answers. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013. .

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:. "Treaty of Versailles." Answers. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2013. .

"Oxford Dictionaries (US)." Oxford Dictionaries (US). N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. < http://oxforddictionaries.com/us />.

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Mustafa Kemal." Turkish Student Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. .

"Turkish War of Independence definition of Turkish War of Independence in the Free Online Encyclopedia.." Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. .

Hungary:


 * What were the key events in the process of Hungary’s separation from the Austrian Empire?
 * In World War I, Austria-Hungary’s only ally was Germany, which had not plans on keeping Austria and Hungary together. The dependency on Germany increased as the losses in battles began to rise.
 * In 1916, emperor Francis Joseph I died and was replaced by [|Charles I]. Charles I tried to secretly form a peace treaty and alliance with the Allies in 1917, but it failed and was made public. Germany was outraged and was able to make it so Austria-Hungary was completely dependent on Germany by the end of 1917.
 * Before the end of the war, talk had begun about a new map. On November 3rd, Austria and Hungary signed armistice with the Allies and just a week later, Charles I left Austria. Austria and Hungary then declared themselves republics.
 * In the Austria-Hungary empire, there were many different ethnic groups with conflicting ideas that caused tension to rise. Each group wanted more say in the government, even if that meant oppression for everyone else.
 * During the Treaty of Versailles, both Austria and Hungary signed their own independent peace settlements: The Treaty of Saint Germain and the Treaty of Trianon.
 * By the end of World War I, Austria and Hungary each signed their own individual treaties and thus the two were permanently separated.


 * What was the significance of the transition from Bela Kun’s government to the rise of Admiral Horthy
 * [|Bela Kun], born in 1886, was the leader of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.
 * Under the rule of Kun, all land was nationalized and when Kun refused to redistribute the land to the peasantry, the movement of the Soviet Republic in Hungary lost many of its supporters. The attempts to regain support by Kun backfired after he cancelled all taxes in rural areas and started the Lenin Boys, a group responsible for food requisitioning.
 * The people of Hungary lived in fear of Kun, especially after the creation of the Red Terror. Kun got many of his ideas for the nation of Hungary from the ruling styles and techniques of Lenin.
 * "My personal influence in the Revolutionary Governing Council is such that the dictatorship of the proletariat is firmly established, since the masses are backing me"
 * [|Admiral Miklos Horthy], born in 1868, came into power after the rule of Bela Kun was shut down and taken over. Horthy was named the Regent and Head of State for Hungary and even refused to step down when Charles IV, the former King of Hungary, attempted to regain his throne.
 * Thanks to the direction of Admiral Horthy, the direction of the government in Hungary shifted from communism to republican/nationalist.
 * “The peasants were terrorized by groups of men who went from village to village, held courts martial, and with sadistic pleasure hanged all those who in the war had been awarded the gold medal for bravery”


 * To what extent were the post-war circumstances in Hungary dictated or affected by the Versailles Treaty.
 * Austria-Hungary had to sign two individual peace settlements. This action would show to the world that the two would finally be divided into their own individual republics.
 * Austria signed the Treaty of Saint Germain.
 * Hungary signed the[| Treaty of Trianon].
 * The Treaty of Trianon was signed on June 4th 1920 and stated that Hungary accepted responsibility for the damage to the Allies. Through this treaty and the Treaty of Saint Germain, the empire of Austria-Hungary lost about 75% of its territory to other nations.
 * The new nation of Hungary was landlocked and had no access to the Mediterranean Sea, which made its numerous ports uneless. Hungary now had to pay tariffs to reach a dock to even be able to ship goods.
 * Another resource that Hungary lost was their once popular railways. After the treaty, Hungary only had 38% of the rail line that it had during the reign of the empire. In addition to the tariffs to reach docks, Hungary now had to pay tolls to export goods through other railways. Due to these many tariffs, Hungary was only able to produce 30% of the amount of grain that it used to be able to produce.
 * Many other resources such as iron ore were now outside of the new border and thus unattainable to the Hungarian people.
 * The Treaty of Trianon also made sure that Hungary would not be able to grow into a big economic powerhouse. This was a deliberate attack to make sure that no Central Power nation would ever become a threat to peace in Europe again.
 * Hungary lost many military perks as well. The army of Hungary was capped at 35,000 men and was not allowed to have an air force or a navy.
 * After the treaties were signed, both Austria and Hungary were stripped of large portions of their land. Land went to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia.


 * To what extent could Hungary be viewed as an example or as a departure from Wilson’s principles in the 14 Points?
 * The[| 14 Points by Woodrow Wilson] were influenced and shaped by the leaders of England, France, and Italy, who all happened to be strongly against Germany and its Allies.
 * In Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points, point number 10 says: “The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development”
 * Hungary was not able to grow on their own because of the restrictions set forth by the Treaty of Trianon
 * Military, economy, borders, citizenship, resources, and many more
 * Number 5 says: “A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.”
 * Many of the aspects of the Treaty of Trianon were harsh against Hungary and the Hungarian people due to their involvement with and dedication to Germany.
 * Countries that sided with the Allies during the war did not receive as harsh punishments.
 * Number 3 states: “The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.”
 * When Hungary lost many square miles of land to create or add onto other nations, it became a landlocked republic as well as lost a majority of its railways.
 * This resulted in Hungary having to pay new taxes and tariffs to be able to use resources that were once readily and freely available to its people before the war. Hungary was having to pay other countries for access to the sea for ports and railways that were once a part of the country. So for Hungary, economic barriers actually grew.

Bibliography:


 * "The Treaty of Trianon." The Treaty of Trianon. HistoryLearning, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. .
 * "Austria-Hungary," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation.
 * "Avalon Project - President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points." Avalon Project - President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. Lillian Goldman Law Library, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. .
 * "The Treaty of Trianon: A Hungarian Tragedy: American Hungarian Federation - Founded 1906." The Treaty of Trianon: A Hungarian Tragedy: American Hungarian Federation - Founded 1906. American Hungarian Federation, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2013. < [|__http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/news_trianon.htm__] >.
 * Schwabe, Klaus. Woodrow Wilson, Revolutionary Germany, and Peacemaking, 1918-1919: Missionary Diplomacy and the Realities of Power. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1985. Print.

__ **Czechoslovakia** __

­**— What were the conditions for the creation of the Czechoslovak republic in 1918-19, and to what extent was it linked to the Versailles treaty process?**


 * The creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 was the culmination of the 19th-century struggle of identity and ethnicity politics of a multi-ethnic, multi-linguisitic empire
 * o The Czechs lived primarily under the Kingdom of Bohemia, which was ruled by the Hapsburgs in the 14th century. The Hapsburg’s ruled alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary.
 * o **// Independence //**
 * § The rise of national revival movements (Czech National Revival, Slovak National Revival), mounted tensions combined with religious and ethnic policies (like the Slovaks' resistance to Magyarization by Hungarian rulers) to push the empire to the breaking point.
 * § Furthermore, people all over the empire wanted to be free from the rule of the old aristocracy and imperial family.
 * Partly solved by the introduction of local ethnic representation and language rights.
 * //__ HOWEVER __//, WWI put a stop to further reform, and caused the internal collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the liberation of peoples such as the Czechs and Slovaks.
 * § The Czechs and Slovaks had similar languages, though at the end of the 19th century, the situation of the Czechs and Slovaks was very different because of the different stages of development of their overlords.
 * In the beginning of the 20th century, the idea of a "Czecho-Slovak" entity began to be advocated by some Czech and Slovak leaders. Despite cultural differences, the Slovaks and the Czechs shared similar aspirations for independence from the Habsburg state.
 * // Hence //, they **voluntarily united** for the purpose of independence.
 * § In 1916, Edvard Beneš, Milan Štefánik (a Slovak astronomer and war hero), and Tomáš Masaryk created the //Czechoslovak National Council//.
 * Tomáš Masaryk in the United States, Edvard Beneš in France and Britain, and Milan Štefánik in France all worked tirelessly to gain Allied recognition.
 * § More than 90,000 Czech volunteers formed the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia, France and Italy, where they fought against the Central Powers and later with White Russian forces against Bolshevik troops.
 * Their goal was //to win// the __Allies' support__ for the independence of Czechoslovakia — as a result, in the end they finally succeeded.
 * Once secret talks between the Allies and Austrian emperor Charles I collapsed, in 1918 the Allies recognized the Czechoslovak National Council as the main contributor to the future Czechoslovakian government.
 * § Eventually, independence was proclaimed on October 28, 1918, by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague.
 * Though, several ethnic groups and territories with different historical, political, and economic traditions had to be blended into a new state structure.
 * The origin of the First Republic lies in Point 10 of //Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points//: "The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity to autonomous development."
 * o Creation as a State (1918)
 * § The Pittsburgh Agreement (was signed in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania) led to the creation of the state of Czechoslovakia and was signed by a group of 29 Czechs and Slovaks on May 31, 1918.
 * Furthermore, the document proclaimed that the groups would work for mutual independence to form one country: “Czecho-Slovakia.” It guaranteed autonomy for Slovaks under one state including the right to create an assembly.
 * § The agreement shows the intent and goals of the American representatives of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, and Czech Silesia, to create an independent state to be known as “Czecho-Slovakia”, and is often compared to the US //Declaration of Independence//.
 * § Finally on October 18, 1918, the primary author of the agreement, Tomáš Masaryk, declared the independence of Czechoslovakia.
 * In 1920, the establishment of the Constitution of 1920 installed a parliamentary system and representative democracy.
 * In November of that same year, Tomáš Masaryk was elected the first President of an independent Czechoslovakia.

Regarding the extent to which it was involved in the Versailles Treaty process, they weren’t that significant in terms of making the deals, though Czechoslovakia proposed the Czech corridor in Versailles treaty process, which was a failed proposal during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The proposal would have carved out an area of land to connect Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. A different name often given is Czech-Yugoslav Territorial Corridor. It is called the Czech Corridor, since representatives of Yugoslavia at the Peace Conference stated that they would prefer it be given to the Czechs. In the end, the proposal was rejected by the conference.


 * — What were the challenges faced by the new Czechoslovak state in the decade after the Great War? What were its advantages in this process? **


 * //__ Challenges __//
 * Problems with its **//ethnic diversity//** — the separate histories and greatly differing religious, cultural, and social traditions of the Czechs and Slovaks.
 * The population consisted of Czechs (51%), Slovaks (16%), Germans (22%), Hungarians (5%) and Rusyns (4%).
 * Many of the Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians and Poles and some Slovaks, felt oppressed because the political elite did not generally allow political autonomy for minority ethnic groups.
 * This policy, combined with increasing Nazi propaganda (especially in the German Sudetenland), __led to //unrest// among the non-Czech population__.
 * Nationalism arose in the non-Czech nationalities, and several parties and movements were formed with the aim of broader political autonomy.
 * Example: The Slovak People's Party led by Andrej Hlinka.
 * The country's large German population — the “Sudeten Germans” constituted 3 to 3.5 million out of 14 million of the state's population and were largely concentrated in the Bohemian and Moravian border regions, called the “Sudetenland” in German.
 * Some members of this minority, which were predominantly sympathetic to Germany, undermined the new Czechoslovak state.
 * Ultimately, the plight of the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia was one of the reasons why Adolf Hitler wanted to control Czechoslovakia after he came back to power.
 * The German element, which after 1933 became allied with the Nazis in Germany, along with the increasing feeling of inferiority among the Slovaks, who were hostile to the more numerous Czechs, all led to the weakening state the country in the late 1930s.
 * Czechoslovakia needed to find solutions for the multiplicity of cultures living within one country.
 * From 1928 to 1940, Czechoslovakia was divided into four lands: Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia.
 * In 1927 assemblies were provided for Bohemia, Slovakia, and Ruthenia, their jurisdiction was limited to adjusting laws and regulations of the central government to local needs.
 * National minorities were assured special protection — protection was give to minorities in districts where they constituted 20% of the population, and they were granted full freedom to use their language in everyday life, in schools, and in matters dealing with authorities.
 * Problems in Foreign Policy & Foreign Aid
 * Edvard Beneš was the Czechoslovak foreign minister from 1918 to 1935.
 * Beneš created the system of alliances that determined the republic's international stance (until 1938), and he relied heavily on the League of Nations as guarantor of the post-war status quo and the //security of newly formed states//.
 * Later in Beneš’s endeavors, he attempted to negotiate treaties with Britain and France: seeking their promises of assistance in the event of aggression against Czechoslovakia.
 * Unfortunately Britain remained intransigent in its isolationist policy, and there was no treaty with them. Consequentially in 1924, Beneš concluded a separate alliance with France.
 * // HOWEVER //, as early as 1925 Beneš's Western policy received a serious blow.
 * The Locarno Pact, which allowed Germany to be admitted to the League of Nations, guaranteed Germany's western border.
 * // CONSEQUENTIALLY, // French troops were thus left immobilized on the Rhine, __making French assistance to Czechoslovakia difficult__.
 * When Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, fear of German aggression was pervasive in eastern Central Europe.
 * Unfortunately, Beneš ignored the possibility of a stronger Central European alliance system, though he did seek the participation of the Soviet Union in an alliance to include France.
 * In 1935, the Soviet Union signed treaties with France and Czechoslovakia — the treaties provided that the Soviet Union would come to Czechoslovakia's aid //__only if__// French assistance //__came first__//.
 * This contingency of French assistance coming first put Czechoslovakia in a tough position, as earlier indicates: “French troops were immobilized on the Rhine” due to the implications of The Locarno Pact.
 * //__A really helpful__// video that discusses other challenges and how well Czechoslovakia dealt with themmedia type="custom" key="24036216"
 * //__ Advantages __//
 * o The Industry
 * The new nation of Czechoslovakia had a population of over 13.5 million and it had inherited 70% to 80% of all the industry of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
 * As a result, that led Czechoslovakia to become one of the world's ten most industrialized countries in the 1930s.
 * The industrial capacity of Czechoslovakia was largely because the Czech lands were far more industrialized than Slovakia. Hence, most light and heavy industry were located in the Sudetenland and were owned by Germans and controlled by German-owned banks.
 * However, the very backward Subcarpathian Ruthenia was essentially without an industry.


 * — To what extent could Czechoslovakia have been considered the most successful of the newly created Eastern European states by 1928? **


 * Democracy
 * o The period between the two world wars saw the flowering of democracy in Czechoslovakia.
 * This is //significant// because of all the new states established in central Europe after 1918, **//only//** Czechoslovakia __preserved a democratic government__ until the war broke out (WWII).
 * The persistence of democracy indicates that Czechoslovakia was better prepared to maintain democracy than other countries in the region at the time after WWI.
 * Thus, despite regional disparities, its level of development was much higher than that of neighboring states, as the population was generally literate, and contained fewer alienated groups.
 * The early success of the government was largely due to the influence of the political values of Czechoslovakia's leaders and the policies they adopted. Under Masaryk, Czech and Slovak, politicians promoted progressive social and economic conditions that served //to defuse discontent//.
 * Success in Foreign Policy
 * Foreign minister Beneš became the prime architect of the Czechoslovak-Romanian-Yugoslav alliance (the "Little Entente", 1921–38) directed against Hungarian attempts to reclaim lost areas.
 * Beneš worked closely with France as per the alliance he had established with them in 1924.
 * As a result of the large success of democracy, after 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only democracy in central and eastern Europe.
 * Economic Growth & Development
 * Czechoslovakia was on the road to steady economic growth and development as between 1913 to 1928, the country’s GDP increased by 52% and industrial production by 41%.
 * As a result of the continuing industrial development, by 1938 Czechoslovakia held a 10th place in the world industrial production.

// HOWEVER //, Czechoslovakia was not very good in being the most successful Eastern European state because of the several challenges (which ultimately led to its decline/weakening in 1933) it faced as mentioned in the last question. Multi-ethnic tensions significantly weakened the country by the 1930s as it raised a strong opposition against the Czechoslovak government, which would soon be much more powerful when the Germans in Czechoslovakia would ally with Germany and Hitler in 1933. Ultimately, Czechoslovakia would fall to Germany and from there they had a long way back to becoming a democratic state as they become communist/socialist state for several years during and after WWII.

** Works Cited ** 1. "Czechoslovak history :: Czechoslovakia (1918-92) -- Encyclopedia Britannica." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. .

2. "Czechoslovakia - World War I." Country Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. .

3. "Effect of World War I on Each Country." Worldology. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.worldology.com/Europe/world_war_1_effect.htm>.

4. "First Czechoslovak Republic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Czechoslovak_Republic>.

5. "History of Czechoslovakia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Czechoslovakia#Historical_settings_to_1918>.

6. Orzoff, Andrea. Battle for the Castle: The Myth of Czechoslovakia in Europe, 1914-1948. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Questia School. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.

7. Zinner, Paul E. Communist Strategy and Tactics in Czechoslovakia, 1918-48. New York: Praeger, 1963. Questia School. Web. 8 Oct. 2013.

__**Yugoslavia**__
What were the conditions that led to the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918-19, and to what extent was it linked to the Versailles treaty process?

The creation of Yugoslavia in 1918-1919 was a result of the Habsburg Empire collapsing and the power vacuum yet need for unity that ensued. Pro – Entente Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs were the ones who gained control in Zagreb on October 6th, 1918. On October 29th, 1918, the Croatian government pronounced sovereignty and declared independence from the Habsburgs and also proclaimed a new State of Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and also wanted to form a union with Serbia and Montenegro. Croatia asked the newly formed National Council in Zagreb for military help in controlling anarchy happening domestically. The nations created the Yugoslav committee and former kingdoms would now function under one entity, yet, dilemmas arose when the Yugoslav state had to solve issues that were once separate, domestic, and not interconnected. For examples, immediate disagreements about the terms proposed for Serbian union arose. Croatian Serb Svetozar Pribicevic wanted unconditional union, immediately. Stjepan Radic, leader of the opposition sought for a creation of a South Slavic Confederacy consisting of Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Pribicevic prevailed as the National Council of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs denied Radic’s notions. The political field was tense mainly with conflict between Croats and Serbians. The Serbian Army controlled many regions, and after the debate over Syrmia, a fertile agricultural region between Croatia and Serbia, the National Council agreed to a unification with Serbia. The final declaration said that the organization of the government should be allotted to the future Constituent Assembly which could only pass final decisions with a 2/3 majority. With compromise reached by the National Council, on December 4th, 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was declared. The Treaty of Versailles process granted Yugoslavian states much of their land, including parts of Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, and Southern Hungary. This land was former Austrian-Hungarian territory that was given to the Yugoslavian states in an effort not only to undermine the Austro-Hungarian Empire but also ease tension between differing ethnicities and religions that Russia and Britain both thought would cause instability within the region. The Kingdom was nicknamed the “Versailles State,” due to its influence from allied forces. The name of it was only changed to Yugoslavia in 1929

What were the challenges faced by the new Yugoslav state in the decade after the Great War? What were its advantages in this process?

The challenges faced was caused by the friction created mainly by different masses of ethnicities acclimating under one entity. Political beliefs, religious views and ethnic background all played a part in societal instability within the region. Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes all had ethnic disparities, and tension was fueled by the differences in between Orthodox and Catholic churches, along with a discourse in different states and political parties wanting more federalist or more centrist political governing. The Croatian Peasant Party was against the centralist state organization implemented by the Serbs. Political fights between Croats and Serbs would lead to the death of the Croat political figure Radic by a Serbian in Montenegro in 1928. King Alexander took complete control and banned political parties in an attempt to curb separatism. He outlawed flags, communism, and persisted on stalwart rule to attempt to regain stability. Alexander had much opposition as one can imagine, and was assassinated in 1934 by Croatian fascists also known as the Ustashe.

To what extent could Yugoslavia be viewed as an example or a departure from Wilson’s principles in the 14 Points? To what extent was it a cure for the ills that plagued the Balkans up to 1914, and to what extent was it a continuation of those ills?

The situation in Yugoslavia could be viewed as an example of Wilson’s principles but should rather be interpreted as a departure. Wilson’s 14 points outline the Great War as a moral cause and an effort for post-war peace in Europe, however this was not completely the case in The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Even though the Balkan nations were no longer invading and destroying one another, political, ethnic, and religious disparities defined the struggles of the nation. Conflict was very much a part of daily life, and assassinations of political figures, clashes between political beliefs, and lingering nationalism all served to keep the situation hostile. The Great War cured the Balkans of complete war towards each other, however there was still a continuation of hostilities between multiple facets of political life.

Endre Wagner

Doder, Dusko. "Yugoslavia: New War, Old Hatreds." (n.d.): n. pag. JSTOR.org. Washington Post Newsweek Interactive, 1993. Web.

STOREY, DAVID. "Territory and National Identity: Examples from the Former Yugoslavia." JSTOR. Geographical Association, 2002. Web. 08 Oct. 2013.