The Central European Civil War

Abstract

Between 1918 and 1921, Central Europe witnessed several military conflicts which in the past were regarded as rather isolated. Chapter 3 argues that we learn much more about their nature if we underline their similarities rather than their differences. Actually, they can be interpreted as part of a Central European Civil War, which served the new nation states to secure their share of the imperial heritage. Civil war is thus defined as a common experience of fratricidal war in postwar Central Europe. Subsequently, the conflicts at Poland’s borders from the northeast to the southwest are described with an emphasis on their paramilitary character and the way they affected the civil population which was caught in their crossfire. Simultaneously, inner conflict threatened the state’s existence: its leadership prepared for a domestic war, and even the Soviet invasion of 1920 did not motivate Polish peasants to join the colors.