Elusive Alliance: The German Occupation of Poland in World War I - Hardcover

This is a major contribution to the growing area of comparative occupations from the late nineteenth century through World War II. Kauffman's work underscores that what happened in Eastern Europe during World War I is a crucial turning point, and his findings will force historians to adjust their thinking in many areas. This book will be the standard work on the First World War German occupation of Poland for many years to come.--Robert L. Nelson, University of Windsor A well-written book on a fascinating topic. Kauffman shows convincingly that the German leadership was aware that the occupation regime in Warsaw had to gain a degree of popular support among the Poles to function properly and avoid destabilizing the eastern front. Therefore, it had to constantly balance imperial ambitions and pragmatic wartime needs. By providing a fresh perspective on the German occupation regime in Poland, Elusive Alliance is an important addition to the literature on the First World War and German imperial politics in Eastern Europe.--Gregor Thum, University of Pittsburgh

As World War I dragged on into 1915, German armies along the Western Front settled into stalemate with entrenched British and French forces. But in the East the picture was quite different. The Kaiser's army routed the Russians, took possession of Polish territory, and attempted to create a Polish satellite state. Elusive Alliance delves into Germany's three-year occupation of Poland and explains why its ambitious attempt at nation-building failed. Dubbed the Imperial Government-General of Warsaw, Germany's occupation regime was headed by veteran Prussian commander Hans Hartwig von Beseler. In his vision for Central Europe, Poland would become Germany's permanent ally, culturally and politically autonomous but bound to the Fatherland in foreign policy matters. To win Polish support, Beseler spearheaded the creation of new institutions including a Polish-language university in Warsaw, reformed the school system, and established democratically elected municipal governments. For Beseler and other German strategists, a secure Poland was essential to ensuring Central Europe against a threatening tide of nationalism and revolution. But as Jesse Kauffman shows, Beseler underestimated the resistance to his policies and the growing hostility to occupation as Germany plundered Polish resources to fuel its war effort. By 1918, with the war over, Poles achieved independence. Yet it would not be long before they faced a second, far more brutal German occupation at the hands of the Nazis.