The humanities and social science

2021 Issue №1

«400 days of East Prussia» of August Winnig: an experience of opportunistic memoirs

Abstract

This article analyzes the memoirs of August Winnig,  Reichskommissar and Oberpräsident of East Prussia, covering the time from the revolutionary events of early 1919 to the Kapp Putsch in March 1920, against the back­ground of the foreign-policy situation and inner-party struggle in the prov­ince. Particular attention is paid to the political views of A. Winnig and the reasons for cooling in their relations toward the SPD leadership.

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Participation of foreign volunteers in the Greek Revolution of 1821—1830

Abstract

The article examines the volunteer movement from European countries to Greece in order to assess its role in the revolution of 1821—1830. The study relies on the proclamations of the rebels, diplomatic documents, materials of the Philhellenic committees, the press, diaries, memoirs and correspondence of contemporaries. The author analyzes the background, organization, funding sources, the nature of the participation of volunteers in hostilities. The study used historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods. The idea of the responsibility of Europeans for the fate of the Greeks appeared in the enlightened circles of Europe long before the Greek Revolution. With the beginning of the uprising on the Peloponnese, it developed into Philhellenic committees, which raised money for the Greeks and sent volunteers to Greece. The author concludes that the participation of foreign volunteers in hostilities had limited importance, while the contribution to the propaganda of the Greek cause was highly significant and encouraged public opinion and the governments of European countries to intercede for the Greeks. In turn, diplomatic assistance from European powers played the major success role for the revolution and Greece's independence.

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