Successor States and the Problems to Follow By:Nia Martin, Rochelle Zaldivar, Gabriel Mateo, and Shanthan Mahendran

What were successor states and why were they formed? The Paris peace settlement established the existence of these “successor states,” or nations created following the Treaty of Versailles These nations were the result of the clashing “nationalities,” defined by Woodrow Wilson as having a common language, which disbanded several European empires These states would go on to cause many disputes involving border lines, cultural differences among populations, and political and economic structure

Europe Pre-WW1 Europe Post-WW1

Yugoslavia On December 1, 1918, Yugoslavia was formed and became home to Croats, Serbs, Magyars(Hungarians),Germans, Albanians, Romanians, and Macedonians Alexander I(1921-1934) was the king who: prohibited all political parties declared himself dictator in 1929 Developing effective democratic institutions wasn’t possible because of all the different ethnic groups Border disagreements with Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria later occurred

Poland The Republic of Poland was recreated in 1918 during the aftermath of World War 1. The Polish Republic’s borders were not completely established until 1921. At first a democratic government was established, however a military coup led to nearly two decades of authoritarian government.

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia, created in October 1918, lasted until 1992, when it divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia The nation was home to numerous ethnic groups, including Russians, Magyars, Poles, Jews and 3 million Germans Czechoslovakia was better off than most successor states, as their land was rich with fertile land, raw materials, and valuable industries

Czechoslovakia’s Problems It was also the inhabited by peoples of the German speaking countries of Bohemia, Moravia, and Sudetenland These countries made up a minority, and believed that they were being constantly discriminated against, buy Czechoslovakia managed to preserve a democratic republic government Czechoslovakia was proactive, and quickly made protective alliances with Yugoslavia, Romania, Italy, and France Problems involving varying cultural backgrounds would als lead to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992

Hungary Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia had taken the majority of Hungary’s population (66%), as well as their lands vital to industry They were headed by an authoritarian government, and, committed to regaining their lands, developed treaties with Italy (1927) and Austria (1933) To this day, Hungary is still an existing parliamentary republic nation

Austria After the Treaty of Saint-Germain, Austria lost industrially productive land to both Poland and Czechoslovakia. This caused the countries increased reliance on foreign loans. Which in turn led to the rise of inflation through the 1920s. Most of the Austrian people believed that to solve their political and economic instability, they were required create a union with Germany.This went directly against the post-war peace settlement.

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