Prague Papers on the History of International Relations (Dec 2016)
stván Burián and the Settling of the Polish Issue during the First World War
Abstract
Between 13th January 1915 and the April of 1916 filled István Burián the charge of the Common Foreign Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this time culminated the polish question in the policy of the First World War constituting the basis of the relations Austro-Hungarian and Germany. The first period after 5th August 1915 after the troops of the too allied powers had occupied the full territory of the former Polish Kingdom was arising a political pressure to arrange the fate of the Polish Nation: government, political system, education, public supply and so on. The political leadership of the Danube-Monarchy had tried to settle the question in the framework of the so-called Austro-Polish-Project added the liberated Polish Kingdom to Austro-Hungary. In the Austrian policy became this concept the leading governing principle against the German ideas to unit Poland with Germany. This solution of the question was a consequence of the aspirations of Germany to the domination of the world or at least of East-Europe. István Burián had been acting on behalf of the Austro-polish solution very consistent, and what is more, with a doctrinarian determination that was followed from his turn of mind: because he had a lot of political preconceptions, he tried to realize this. The resistance of the German Government on the spite with Bethmann-Hollweg was so hard that the ambitions of Burián proved to be as fighting windmills. Burián had been going on the way of the “sub-dualistic” structure in like manner to the situation of Croatian in the framework of the Danube-Monarchy. In his second period as Common Foreign Minister (April — October 1918) has hindered him the defensive trends of the military situation of the Central Powers to realize his imagines upon the Polish Solution.
