IWP professor Dr. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz has recorded a YouTube lecture series on the impacts of World War I in the Intermarium, the region between the Baltic and Black Seas.
In his first lecture, The Great War in the Intermarium, he starts with a series of powerful quotes about the devastating impact of World War I and continues to discuss the origins and nature of the war, particularly in Poland. He provides an informed perspective on the entire course of World War I while specifically examining its impact in the Intermarium region.
His second lecture in the series, The Intermarium’s Nationalisms: Old and New, discusses historic and non-historic nationalisms in the region. Historic, or traditional nationalism, focuses on civic and local identity, while non-historic, or modern nationalism, revolves around ethnic and folk character. As different nations emerged in the wake of the Russian Revolution and during World War I, these different notions of nationalism challenged each other.
His final lecture in the series, National Self-Determination: Proletarian or Liberal?, offers an engaging discussion of the notion of national self-determination, an idea that became prominent during World War I. He provides two perspectives on national self-determination, Lenin’s theory of proletarian national self-determination, and Wilson’s liberal internationalist idea of national self-determination. Both ideas propelled their champions to success, and had a profound impact for non-historical folk nationalist groups in the Intermarium region.
His fourth lecture covers the 1918 Treaty of Brest Litovsk, the first international conference ostensibly appealing to the notion of national self-determination. By terms of this treaty, Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine, Georgia, and Finland and gave up approximately 1 million square miles of its territory, including Poland and the Baltic States. In the Intermarium, the Treaty laid the ground for Germany’s domination. However, the promise of the treaty was revoked with Germany’s loss to the Western Allies and the resulting 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
His fifth lecture, Toward the Catastrophe of Armistice, covers the period between the spring and autumn of 1918, during which America joining the First World War reversed the war’s course. While several military leaders called for a complete victory over Germany, the Armistice that resulted failed to beat Germany decisively, paving the way for the Second World War.
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At The Institute of World Politics, Dr. Chodakiewicz serves as a Professor of History and holds the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies. Additionally, he heads IWP’s Center for Intermarium Studies.