The Nationalist Aspect of the Versailles System

Reviews the Soviet-era historiography of the Treaty of Versailles & its role in creating modern Europe following WWI. Major actors during the treaty negotiations -- Wilson, Lloyd George, & Clemenceau -- contributed to the rise of nationalism in Eastern, Central, & Southeastern Europe by encouraging the aspirations of the nations formerly ruled by the German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, & Ottoman Empires. However, the logic of nationalism led to political & social instability in several multiethnic successor states, especially Czechoslovakia (which, during the interwar period, was a republic with large German, Hungarian, & Rusyn minorities) & the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Also addressed is the role of the Treaty of Trianon, which partitioned Habsburg Hungary, in exacerbating ethnic & political tensions in the region. 15 References. A. Siegel