István Burián and the Settling of the Polish Issue during the First World War

• Authors: Tefner Zoltán
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Between 13th January 1915 and the April of 1916 filled István Burián the charge of the Common Foreign Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this time culminated the polish question in the policy of the First World War constituting the basis of the relations Austro-Hungarian and Germany. The first period after 5th August 1915 after the troops of the too allied powers had occupied the full territory of the former Polish Kingdom was arising a political pressure to arrange the fate of the Polish Nation: government, political system, education, public supply and so on. The political leadership of the Danube-Monarchy had tried to settle the question in the framework of the so-called Austro-Polish-Project added the liberated Polish Kingdom to Austro-Hungary. In the Austrian policy became this concept the leading governing principle against the German ideas to unit Poland with Germany. This solution of the question was a consequence of the aspirations of Germany to the domination of the world or at least of East-Europe. István Burián had been acting on behalf of the Austro-polish solution very consistent, and what is more, with a doctrinarian determination that was followed from his turn of mind: because he had a lot of political preconceptions, he tried to realize this. The resistance of the German Government on the spite with Bethmann-Hollweg was so hard that the ambitions of Burián proved to be as fighting windmills. Burián had been going on the way of the “sub-dualistic” structure in like manner to the situation of Croatian in the framework of the Danube-Monarchy. In his second period as Common Foreign Minister (April — October 1918) has hindered him the defensive trends of the military situation of the Central Powers to realize his imagines upon the Polish Solution.

Keywords

EN

Austro-Polonism; the Future of Poland; Common Ministry of the Foreign Affairs; Sub-dualistic System; Unify the Polish Nation; Central Powers

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Arts, Czech Republic
• Journal: Prague Papers on the History of International Relations
• Year: 2016
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 82-103

Contributors

author

Tefner Zoltán

• Institute of Sociology and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, Corvinus University, Közraktár utca 4-6, 1093 Budapest, Hungary