Europe's disintegrative moment: Transportation and borders in Silesia during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919

Abstract

In 1919 the Paris Peace Conference met to remake the world following the First World War. Among the most serious problems faced was the collapse of the multinational empires which once dominated central and eastern Europe, and the emergence of new successor states with unrecognised and overlapping borders. This fragmentation produced chaotic economic conditions as borders were frequently closed without warning, and the passage of goods and people consequently halted, delayed, or diverted. The peacemakers in Paris dispatched allied commissions in an attempt to resolve these problems. Using the files of several bodies sent to former Habsburg Silesia, this article elaborates on what this disintegrative moment meant for the region and its people. The turbulent events were not easily forgotten, and fostered visions of revenge, as well as European unity. One hundred years on and they still remain as an important historical reference point.