The Interwar Years and World War II

Abstract

The Versailles dictates of the Entente Powers regarding the new nation-states of “friends” and “enemies” came with both strings attached and scant consideration for the collateral difficulties that they caused. Whether “winners” or “losers” at Versailles, the postwar Balkan states suffered almost equally in terms of national, political, and economic problems stemming from the settlements. Nationally, the problems of the “losers” were blatant, while the “winners” paid for their favored status with subsequent intense internal national problems. Politically, all reverted from outwardly Western-like liberal-democracy toward more overt traditional Eastern-like (Orthodox and Islamic) authoritarian rule. Economically, all primarily remained agrarian and commercially dependent on the West, leaving them highly vulnerable to Western market changes—especially the Great Depression—and ultimately susceptible to Nazi Germany’s influence through economic assistance.