Displacing and re-placing population in the two world wars: Armenia and Poland compared

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

During the twentieth century Armenia and Poland alike were sites of widespread population displacement, which brought into sharp focus arguments about national 'survival' advanced by patriotic leaders who found in refugees the embodiment of recurrent national suffering. Population displacement also attracted external support from sympathetic foreigners and from the Armenian and Polish diaspora, who regarded it as an affront to civilisation. Among Armenians a groundswell of support for repatriation gathered momentum after both world wars, because Soviet 'protection' offered the most realistic chance for national survival. In contrast many Poles opted not to return to Poland after 1945, regarding the communist takeover as a betrayal of Poland's struggle for independence. © 2007 Cambridge University Press.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)511-527
Number of pages16
JournalContemporary European History
Volume16
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Displacing and re-placing population in the two world wars: Armenia and Poland compared'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this