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Copyright of Journal of Kirkuk University Humanity Studies is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

After the First World War, the newly founded Czechoslovak Republic received the right to lease property at the German ports of Hamburg and Stettin, as guaranteed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. However, the form, location and legal provisions of these properties were left to be negotiated at a later date. It took 10 years of legal and strategic deliberations before areas at the Hamburg free port were finally leased to the Czechoslovak Republic in 1929 for a period of 99 years. By focusing on the negotiation process for a Czechoslovak port zone in Hamburg, this article traces issues of territoriality, most especially the debates on the cession of sovereign rights in the context of the dominant geopolitical order of nation-states in the interwar period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914 has been described as the ‘most powerful German myth’ of the First World War. This essay analyses the role of the battle in German collective memory up to the end of the Third Reich. During the war, the victory in East Prussia was celebrated widely and greatly contributed to the personality cult surrounding Paul von Hindenburg. After 1918, Tannenberg served right-wing circles as a political argument against the post-war order, evoked to underscore the notion of German victimhood against Slav ‘encirclement’, the ‘war guilt lie’ and the territorial provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. However, it never really captured the attention or imagination of writers and artists. Linked primarily to national-conservative groups and ideals, Tannenberg was also of no major significance in National Socialist propaganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The birth of peacekeeping as a modern concept for the deployment of neutral multinational military forces to support a peace process endorsed by an international organization dates to the League of Nations. The League planned two military operations that were clearly different than the other post-war Allied plebiscite missions in that they included neutral military forces and presented themselves as something other than a collection of Allied soldiers overseeing the legal actions associated with the dismantling of the Central Powers after World War I. These operations are the foundations of what is commonly called peacekeeping under the United Nations and other international organizations in the latter half of the 20th century and opening of the 21st century. The two missions - the planned but not fielded 1920 Vilna International Force and the 1935 Saar International Force - are frequently "lost" among the many Allied plebiscite forces fielded after World War I, but should be seen for what they truly are -- the birth of the modern concept of peacekeeping. This article examines the trends in early United Nations peacekeeping operations that can be traced to these League of Nations missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines the origins of Germany's disarmament by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It focuses on British and French policy during World War I and at the Paris Peace Conference. It deals with both land and naval disarmament, and considers the influence of American diplomacy and of Allied public opinion. It traces the connections between the forced disarmament of the defeated countries and proposals for a larger disarmament regime to be negotiated between the victors. It stresses the role of inter-allied rivalries in undermining the stability of the disarmament settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]