National minorities as peace-builders? How three Baltic Germans responded to the First World War

Abstract

Many members of Europe’s national minorities had particularly terrible experiences during the First World War. This article examines how three ethnic German minority activists from the Baltic region responded to those dreadful years by, subsequently, presenting themselves as peace campaigners promoting a novel model for multi-ethnic society. They promoted ideas such as the ‘a-national state’ and ‘cultural autonomy’ at both national and international levels, not least in the hope of influencing the League of Nations. To what extent should they be accepted as early peacebuilders?