Mitteleuropa

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Mitteleuropa (Central/Middle Europe) is a German term equal to Central Europe. In Germany and Austria, the term usually refers to the territory covered by the modern states of:

and often includes regions that were part of Austria-Hungary and Baltic and western regions of the Russian Empire:

Vojvodina in Serbia
Parts of Romania
Croatia
Bosnia-Herzegovina
(small parts of) Italy (specifically South Tyrol and the city of Trieste, sometimes also the whole Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto include themselves in Mitteleuropa - now parts of the Alpe Adria region)
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Parts of Western Belarus
Parts of Western Ukraine

Before the First World War, this part of Europe was divided between the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Empire, and the Russian Empire.

Mitteleuropa in World War I

Outside of Germany, the concept of Mitteleuropa may be best known for that policy of the Central Powers during World War I which assumed the creation of several buffer states in Central Europe, conquered from Imperial Russia and commonly viewed as puppet states. One of Germany's war aims in World War I was to create an economic sphere of German domination in Central Europe. By their creation and economic exploitation growing dissent among German population could be answered, and resources to fight the war on the Western Front could be used more efficiently.

The policy was realized after signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, in which Russia ceded most of the areas occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary to the respective countries. On the area ceded to the Central Powers, the following political entities were to be located:

Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland liberated themselves, after the collapse of Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I. Soon they gained international recognition and participated in signing of the Versailles Treaty as members of the Entente. The other two (Belarus and Ukraine) were taken over by the Russian SFSR and became Republics of the Soviet Union. And important part of the plan was annexation of tens of thousands of square kilometers of territories from which the native inhabitants, mainly Poles, Jews and Lithuanians would be ethnically cleansed to make room for German colonists. From Poland alone, Germany wanted to annex circa and expell around 2.000.000 people. The remaining puppet states would serve as quasi-colonial posessions where Germany industry would exploit resources and workers. Additionally the ruling class would be composed of German minority, which the German planners hoped, would one day dominate the population, and allow the states to be absorbed into German Empire as its provinces

Germany and Austria-Hungary's claims to the lands of "Mitteleuropa" in World War I and success in attaining them in 1918, would lay the foundation of the concept of Lebensraum (living space) by the Nazi regime years later.

Mitteleuropa

Mitteleuropa in World War I

See also

Further reading