Racial Minorities in Europe Present One of Most Dangerous Political Questions Today

In central and eastern Europe the frontiers of nationality are not clearly defined geographically. This is a point that must be kept constantly in mind in discussing the question of racial minorities, one of the most dangerous questions in European politics of the present day and quite as menacing to the cause of peace as the reparations problem or the problem of disarmament. Just because of the fact that the European nationalities merge gradually into one another, and because of the fact that there are, in various localities of eastern Europe, isolated racial islands embedded in the larger national blocks it was inevitable that even before the war there should have been a minorities question, of which the acute phase developed from the growing national consciousness of the nineteenth century. Effects had been made to meet the problem prior to 1918, and in several of the peace treaties of the past century, notably in those which established the independence of several Balkan states, provision had been made for the fair treatment of these minorities. The difficulties in the way of a satisfactory settlement were, however, great.

Difficulties in Settlement

In the first place, there was no effective machinery to enforce the observance of the clauses written into the treaties, and in the second place the larger powers, like Austria-Hungary and Russia, had themselves large minorities which were beyond the scope of international interference. In so far as these minorities belonged racially to other independent states they became the objects of irredentist agitations, that is to say efforts were made to arouse in them a national consciousness and to prepare them for eventual annexation to the mother country. In most instances the larger powers replied to these tactics by various measures designed to denationalize their minorities and to merge them culturally in the general population. In the long run the procedure of Austria-Hungary in 1914 against Serbia was intended to put an end to the corroding propaganda which threatened to disintegrate the monarchy.

War Proved Disruptive

The great war led to the disruption, in some measure, of most of the states which possessed minorities. The Hapsburg Empire disappeared entirely, while Germany and Russia lost large areas on their frontiers and the Turk was all but driven out of Europe. In the peace settlements of 1919 the principle of national self-determination was applied in an imperfect way to the problem of territorial readjustment. In view of the vagueness of national frontiers a settlement of entirely satisfactory character was out of the question. Clearly defined national frontiers could have been established only if the principle of deportation or exchange of populations had been applied. The idea is, in a theoretical, way, an excellent one, but its application is of necessity so harsh, amounting practically to the eradication of peoples long resident in certain localities, that it was probably never seriously considered by any of the statesmen assembled at Parts. In any case the continued existence of minorities was inevitable.

The great weakness of the peace settlement was not that it had not solved this question, but that it had not followed the principle of self-determination as far as possible. In the desire to weaken the defeated central powers and to strengthen the smaller or newly-created succession states considerations of strategy, of communications and of geography were allowed to play into the settlement of the frontiers, with the result that since the war there have been more submerged minorities and more irredentas than before. Add to this the fact that these minorities have become nationally more and more conscious and there should be no difficulty in understanding the seriousness of the question at the present day.

New Minorities German

From the very nature of the case a great many of the new minorities belong to Germany racially, and here again one has to deal with highly cultured elements which are unwilling to accept oppression without remonstrance. Leaving aside the German element in Alsace-Lorraine, which is largely French in sentiment, the most important German minorities are those in southern Tyrol, under Italian domination, in Czecho-slovakia, in Polish Silesia, and in the region, of the Polish corridor. In the treaties by which the new states of eastern Europe were recognized or established, provisions were made for the interests of minorities. Practically all the states of eastern Europe, except Russia, are bound by agreements to accord these subject peoples equality of treatment, education in their own language and religious freedom, and in general to abstain from oppressive measures. But in 1919 as in the period before the war, it was thought impossible to apply similar regulations to the larger powers because such provisions obviously amount to an infringment of sovereignty. Consequently there is no legal remedy for the people of southern Tyrol who are the most systematically oppressed of all the submerged peoples in Europe today. Far from having learned from the experience of other states the Italian government has established a record in this respect.

League Council Power Organ

As for the other nationalities, their only recourse is to the Council of the League, which under the treaties, is to safeguard their interests. Off-hand this would appear to be a good arrangement and to provide sufficient protection. The League Council has, in fact, done good work in smoothing over difficulties of a minor nature and in paving the way to better relationship through gentle pressure upon various governments. But it has been, to date, unable to handle the larger issues satisfactorily. After all, the League Council is the organ of the larger powers and in its discussions the conflicting interests of these powers are bound to make themselves felt. The minorities, at least, are convinced that there is little to be hoped for from the secret pourparlers of the leading statesmen. In 1926 Germany was admitted to the League and given a seat on the Council, and it was expected by the German minorities that Germany would take the lead and press the question. Germany has, in fact, come to be looked upon as the champion of the oppressed nationalities because a revision of the peace treaties is in her own interest.

Great Hopes Unjustified

But what has happened during the past week at the Council meeting at Geneva would indicate that too great hopes are not justified. Stresemann, the German foreign minister, was obliged by pressure at home to put the question on the agenda, but it was clear from the beginning that he was anxious to avoid raising the question in a larger way, in order not to compromise the reparations negotiations which are in progress. The Poles, knowing that the Germans would not be willing to have the question become acute, have been pressing for action, in the hope that the whole problem could be definitively settled by some diluted compromise. As between the Germans and the Poles the former are of much greater importance in European politics and the outcome was a foregone conclusion. The question has again been shelved, as Stresemann desired it should be.

Cooperation and Tolerance

What has happened in Geneva during the past week has happened before and will happen again. It is quite clear that the present arrangements for the protection of minorities are inadequate, but it is hard to see what more can be done without arousing international animosities and creating international tension. The fault lies in large part with the peace settlements, but there is little prospect of their being revised without war. Under the circumstances one is driven back to the hope that humanity will live and learn, that, in the words of a recent Czech writer, the exaggerated idea of nationalism will gradually die out and give way to a new idea of co-operation and tolerance in the interests of the general welfare.

EDITOR'S NOTE

The following article, dealing with the minorities problem in Europe, was written especially for the Crimson by W. L. Langer '15, assistant professor of History and tutor in the Division of History, Government, and Economics in the University. This problem has been discussed at the Council meeting at Geneva during the past week.