scholarly journals German propaganda in the Balkans during the First World War

Balcanica ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 69-78
Author(s):  
Stratos Dordanas

Immediately after the outbreak of the First World War Germany mobilized hu?man resources from all fields and put up all the necessary funds to counter British and French propaganda. In a very short period of time, it was in a position to organize its own propaganda networks abroad, to a large extent, by using the respective commercial networks and the pre-war enterprises operating in various countries. It was the neutral countries around the world that were among the primary targets of German propaganda. In the Balkans particular effort was made to create a favourable climate for the Central Powers and prevail over the adverse British and French influence. With the assistance of commercial circles and the appropriation of large sums of money, newspapers, journalists and publishing groups were bought off, information offices set up, agents recruited, politi?cal parties and politicians bribed, and pro-German parties founded. The aim was to influ?ence public opinion, promote the German version of war developments, and manipulate political leaders to give up their stance of neutrality and make the decision for their coun?try to take part in the war on the side of Germany. However, even though Berlin focused its attention on the Balkans where the major propaganda networks were organized, the propaganda campaigns proved to be essentially ineffective. Following Bulgaria?s entry into the war on the side of the Central Powers and the destruction of Serbia, first Romania and then Greece joined the Entente, finding themselves on the winning side at the war?s end.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (48) ◽  

The Ottoman Empire signed an alliance agreement with Germany right after the start of the First World War. After the Alliance treaty, political and military targets were determined in the meeting held among the leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress to determine the policy to be followed. In this meeting, it was also decided to set up an Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, which would carry out a guerilla war for the army. Establishment of Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, immediately after the alliance signed with Germany, shows that Germany is also looking at this kind of initiative. It was established under the proposal of Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa Enver Pasha under the Ministry of War. Süleyman Askeri Bey, who dealt with the guerilla war, was brought to the head of the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa. The next two presidents were elected among soldiers of military origin. Unionist officers formed the core of the organization. Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa carried out activities in the Balkans, Caucasus, Morocco, Tripoli, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria during the First World War. However, during the war, the Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa underwent some changes. After Ali Başhampa, a civilian, became the president, the name of Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa became Umur-ı Şarkiyye Dairesi, and Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa became more central and civil. Following this change, Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa started to conduct propaganda rather than military activity. In this article, the activities carried out by Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa during the First World War will be evaluated. Keywords: Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa, Enver Pashaa, the Committee of Union and Progress, the Ottoman Empire


لارك ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
فهد عويد عبد

The Balkan region in general and Romania in particular have witnessed major political developments during the First World War. Suffice it to say that the first outbreak of war began from the Balkans, namely Sarajevo, and ended in the Balkans, where the last peace treaties were signed with the surrender of Bulgaria on September 29, 1918. Years of War The Balkans were generally a theater in which the armies of the belligerents demonstrated their military capabilities. Moreover, in the same period, both sides of the conflict (the Axis Powers or the Wafd States) were struggling to obtain the support of the Balkans, including Romania, Sugary, political and economic, both on military operations or planed Supply issues or control over trade routes, and on the other side of Romania was seeking for its part to take advantage of the chance of war to the maximum extent possible to achieve the national dream of achieving political unity.


Balcanica ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 107-133
Author(s):  
Dimitrije Djordjevic

This paper discusses the occupation of Serbia during the First World War by Austro-Hungarian forces. The first partial occupation was short-lived as the Serbian army repelled the aggressors after the Battle of Kolubara in late 1914, but the second one lasted from fall 1915 until the end of the Great War. The Austro-Hungarian occupation zone in Serbia covered the largest share of Serbia?s territory and it was organised in the shape of the Military Governorate on the pattern of Austro-Hungarian occupation of part of Poland. The invaders did not reach a clear decision as to what to do with Serbian territory in post-war period and that gave rise to considerable frictions between Austro-Hungarian and German interests in the Balkans, then between Austrian and Hungarian interests and, finally, between military and civilian authorities within Military Governorate. Throughout the occupation Serbia was exposed to ruthless economic exploitation and her population suffered much both from devastation and from large-scale repression (including deportations, internments and denationalisation) on the part of the occupation regime.


Balcanica ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 357-390
Author(s):  
Milovan Pisarri

Since sufferings of civilian populations during the First World War in Europe, especially war crimes perpetrated against civilians, have - unlike the political and military history of the Great War - only recently become an object of scholarly interest, there still are considerable gaps in our knowledge, the Balkans being a salient example. Therefore, suggesting a methodology that involves a comparative approach, the use of all available sources, cooperation among scholars from different countries and attention to the historical background, the paper seeks to open some questions and start filling lacunae in our knowledge of the war crimes perpetrated against Serb civilians as part of the policy of Bulgarization in the portions of Serbia under Bulgarian military occupation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Елена Евгеньевна Ходченко

The article raises the problems of the Mennonite community's reflection on the reforms in Russian Empire as well as the modernization of social, political and economic environment in 1861–1914, during the First World War, the recurring power changes and political anarchy in Ukraine during the Civil War. The author examines the Mennonites' attempts to adjust the changes in reality, the cause-and-effect relationships of arising social crisis which ultimately led to the destruction of the ethnoreligious community's canonical foundations. The research bases on the testimonies of the eyewitnesses (given in their diaries), memoirs and other published materials. The author examines the gradual deviation processes among the Mennonite society that were transforming the fundamental statements of the congregations’ doctrine and their moral norms and traditions. It is analyzed whether the Russian-Ukrainian Mennonites remained an ethno-religious conglomerate or lost their inherent values. As a result it has been proved the following: the Mennonites in Russia in a short period from the beginning of the reforms of the 1860s – 1870s to the beginning of the 20th century, went from a close-knit religious community to an opened and spiritually weakened unification. During the period of “challenges and reactions” of the First World War and the Civil War, the leaders of the community were unable to maintain the unity and cohesion, a complex of moral and ethical markers, pacifist views, social institutions, which led to a deformation of values and disorientation in further actions. Only a small part of the Mennonites society was able to organize itself and, thanks to the support of the Canadian Mennonites communities, it emigrated in 1923–1926 and thus avoided the Bolshevik regime repressions. Key words: the Mennonites, World War I, Civil War, Makhno, identity.


Author(s):  
HARALD HEPPNER

This article focuses on the three treaties which were signed in 1718 in Požarevac between Vienna, Constantinople and Venice. The reason for this is the large and long impact which can be observed until the present day, not only regarding these three powers or the Balkans, but the whole Europe. Although the political, juridical, economic and social consequences of these treaties ended mostly at the end of the First World War, the communication infrastructure, the knowledge culture and the mental effects have kept their actuality since the 18th century until today.


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