The Geographer and His Borders
Eugeniusz Romer’s Influence on Poland’s National Territory
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Eugeniusz Romer is considered the founder of modern Polish geography. As a geographer, he also participated in the peace negotiations after the First World War. He did not see himself as a neutral expert, but committed himself to the restoration of the Polish state. The Polish delegation’s successes at the 1919 Paris conference are in no small part attributed to his preliminary cartographic work. At the Riga conference in 1920-21, Romer’s primary objective was no longer the largest national territory possible, but rather the most ethnically homogenous population possible. Here, however, his influence was already waning. Military interests gained the upper hand.
(Osteuropa 1-2/2017, pp. 89–96)