Legacies of Violence: Eastern Europe’s First World War

The First World War began in the Balkans, and it was fought as fiercely in the East as it was in the West. Fighting persisted in the East for almost a decade, radically transforming the political and social order of the entire continent. The specifics of the Eastern war such as mass deportations, ethnic cleansing, and the radicalization of military, paramilitary and revolutionary violence have only recently become the focus of historical research. This volume situates the ‘Long First World War’ on the Eastern Front (1912–1923) in the hundred years from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century and explores the legacies of violence within this context.ContentJochen Böhler/Włodzimierz Borodziej/Joachim von Puttkamer: IntroductionI. A World in TransitionJoachim von Puttkamer: Collapse and Restoration. Politics and the Strains of War in Eastern EuropeMark Biondich: Eastern Borderlands and Prospective Shatter Zones. Identity and Conflict in East Central and Southeastern Europe on the Eve of the First World WarJochen Böhler: Generals and Warlords, Revolutionaries and Nation-State Builders. The First World War and its Aftermath in Central and Eastern EuropeII. OccupationJonathan E. Gumz: Losing Control. The Norm of Occupation in Eastern Europe during the First World WarStephan Lehnstaedt: Fluctuating between ‘Utilisation’ and Exploitation. Occupied East Central Europe during the First World WarRobert L. Nelson: Utopias of Open Space. Forced Population Transfer Fantasies during the First World WarIII. RadicalizationMaciej Górny: War on Paper? Physical Anthropology in the Service of States and NationsPiotr J. Wróbel: Foreshadowing the Holocaust. The Wars of 1914–1921 and Anti-Jewish Violence in Central and Eastern EuropeRobert Gerwarth: Fighting the Red Beast. Counter-Revolutionary Violence in the Defeated States of Central EuropeIV. AftermathJulia Eichenberg: Consent, Coercion and Endurance in Eastern Europe. Poland and the Fluidity of War ExperiencesPhilipp Ther: Pre-negotiated Violence. Ethnic Cleansing in the ‘Long’ First World WarDietrich Beyrau: The Long Shadow of the Revolution. Violence in War and Peace in the Soviet UnionCommentaryJörn Leonhard: Legacies of Violence: Eastern Europe’s First World War – A Commentary from a Comparative Perspective