Title
Niemiecka polityka wobec Europy Środkowej w XX i XXI wieku
Authors
[ 1 ] Wydział Prawa i Bezpieczeństwa, Akademia im. Jakuba z Paradyża | [ P ] employee
Scientific discipline (Law 2.0)
Title variant
EN German Policy Towards Central Europe in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Year of publication
2024
Article type
scientific article
Publication language
polish
Keywords
EN
- Central Europe
- Germany
- German foreign policy
- Ostpolitik
PL
- Europa Środkowa
- Niemcy
- niemiecka polityka zagraniczna
- OstpolitiK
Abstract
PL German policy towards Central Europe throughout the 20th and 21st centuries has been con-sistently shaped by Berlin’s political and economic interests. Prior to 1914, German focus centred on maintaining the political status quo established after the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a pivotal element of the Central European order. During World War I, Germany envisioned Central Europe as a sphere of exclusive German dominance, encapsulated by the con-cept of Mitteleuropa and the “Eastern Empire.” The Weimar Republic (1919-1933) rejected the Central European order imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. Its rapprochement with the Soviet Union was characterized by an anti-Polish stance and a disregard for Central European political independence. This approach persisted in Hitler’s Lebensraum-driven foreign policy. Similarly, the architects of West Germany’s Ostpolitik in the 1970s and 1980s neglected the interests of Central European nations. This pattern of disregard has continued in the policies of subsequent German governments towards Putin’s Russia, overlooking threats not only to Central Europe but also to Germany itself.
Pages (from - to)
127 - 141
DOI
License type
CC BY-NC-SA (attribution - noncommercial - share alike)
Open Access Mode
open journal
Open Access Text Version
final published version
Release date
12.2024
Date of Open Access to the publication
at the time of publication
Ministry points / journal
70
This website works thanks to the software SINUS
created by Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center
Log in to submit to SIS: