Diplomatska borba za Korušku na Pariškoj mirovnoj konferenciji 1919. godine
Diplomatic Battle for Carintha at the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference

Summary/Abstract: After World War One, at the Versailles Peace Conference, the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes had to win its international recognition and define almost all its borders. Since it had not belonged to the camp of the Entente forces, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes had no representatives in the Territorial Commission which submitted its proposals to the Big Four. This was exploited by Italy which would always come up with the least favourable version of the Kingdom’s borders. Italy’s proposal regarding Austria’s border with the Kingdom was that the entire Celovec valley be ceded to Austria. However, the French, British, and American experts for territorial issues demurred. After the protracted and tense wrangling, it was decided that the Celovec valley be divided into two plebiscitary zones. A plebiscite in Carinthia was not in the interest of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and its delegation tried to modify this decision, but to no avail. The Belgrade government’s military intervention in Carinthia was an attempt of fait accompli, but it proved counterproductive as the occupation only deepened the local population’s hostility toward the Yugoslav state and affected the result of the plebiscite: the majority Slovenian population in Zone A opted for Austria, a great setback for the Yugoslav side.

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