«….NON C’È CHE DA RISOLVERE IL PROBLEMA DELL’ALTA SLESIA»: ORDINE INTERNAZIONALE, EGEMONIA ED AUTODETERMINAZIONE NELL’ETÀ DELLA SOCIETÀ DELLE NAZIONI

The Treaty of Versailles had redrawn the map of Europe: it was necessary, however, to implement this project plan. This task was up to the League of Nations, formally into being since January 10th 1920. Among its very first commitments was the intervention in Upper Silesia, troubled by deep inter-ethnic violence. As provided by art. 88 of the Treaty, a plebiscite had been called, so that Silesians could vote whether they wished to be attached to Germany or to Poland. To ensure the regularity of the elections it was necessary to send a strong inter-allied contingent, who found themselves facing a dramatic situation. Returning to these events allows reflecting on the difficulties and contradictions of peace-making interventions while, at the same time, providing tools for improving them.