Carinthian plebiscite

In fact, this referendum was a consequence of the Saint-Germain peace treaty of 1919 ^[1] . In the turbulent 1920s, the geopolitical situation in Europe changed rapidly and unpredictably. If back in 1919 anti-German sentiments prevailed in the victorious countries of the First World War , then in 1920 Great Britain began to fear strengthening France and the emerging USSR on the continent, and therefore made every effort to minimize these processes by strengthening the borders of the German state in the east.

During the years 1919-1920. Carinthia underwent ethnic jerrymandering , during which a small but politically significant part of its territory (the Mezhitsa river valley with Dravograd and Jesersko) with exclusively Slovenian population was transferred to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes without any referendum ^[2] . Almost completely, the Slovenian Ziel Valley was also transferred to Austria without a plebiscite, and the Canal Valley , just as without a plebiscite, was ceded to Italy ^[3] . These steps reduced the concentration of Slovenes in the territories where the plebiscite was to take place. The plebiscite territory itself, in turn, was divided into two zones: mainly Slovenian zone A in the south and mainly German zone B in the north. It is noteworthy that a plebiscite in the northern zone B was to be held only if the supporters of Yugoslavia won in zone A.

Both sides, Austrian and Yugoslav, were allowed to campaign in a relatively relaxed atmosphere, in contrast to the same East Prussia, where German authorities suppressed propolite agitation. Nevertheless, the tension remained: pro-Austrian agitators described the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a poor, chaotic and economically unstable formation. In turn, the pro-Yugoslav side appealed to the national feelings of the Slavic majority, emphasizing respect for the simple way of life of the Slavic peasants and dissatisfaction with the speculation of German burghers.

The analysis of the voting results showed that almost all ethnic Germans , residents of cities, as well as 40% of local Slovenes voted for Austria, which ensured the victory of the pro-Austrian side. 60% of Slovenes voted for Yugoslavia. Many Slovenes voted for Austria only because the plebiscite zone A was skillfully held up to the outskirts of the city of Celovec (now Klagenfurt), but the city itself remained outside of it. This distribution of zones caused Slovenian peasants to be afraid of losing the market in Tselovets in case of a Yugoslav victory. As a result, many Slovenian peasants voted for Austria ^[2] .

It is noteworthy that the interpretation of the results of the Carinthian referendum was much more uncompromising than the similar plebiscite in East Prussia. Despite the fact that the Warmian-Masurian plebiscite showed that 98% of the Mazurian population wished to remain part of Germany, the referendum organizers nevertheless ceded to Poland several small border villages, where the majority of the population voted to join Poland, even despite strong German pressure. In Carinthia, where the votes were divided almost evenly by geography, no territorial concessions were made to the Yugoslav side, even though geographically residents of more than half of Zone A in Carinthia, albeit with a lower population density, spoke out for joining Yugoslavia . In some municipalities bordering Yugoslavia along the Karavanka ridge, the share of votes cast for Yugoslavia exceeded 90%. They were also not allowed to join the latter.