The Annexation of Eupen-Malmedy

This book examines the history of Belgiums annexation of the former German territories of Eupen and Malmedy during the interwar period. Focusing on Herman Baltias transitory regime and Belgiums ambivalence about the fate of its new territories, the book charts the strained relations between Baltias regime and Brussels, the regimes path to dissolution, and the failed retrocession of the territory to Germany. Through close analysis of primary source material, Vincent OConnell investigates the efforts of Baltias provisional government to assimilate the regions inhabitants into Belgium. The ultimate failure of that assimilation, he argues, may be traced back not only to incessant pro-German agitation, but to flawed Belgian policy from the outset. Framed in the context of a post-Versailles Europe, the book offers an interesting case study not only of the ebbs and flows of international politics across the frontier zones of Europe in the interwar years, but of how populations react to changes in national sovereignty.