Answer :
The changes to the European map after World War I, mainly through the Treaty of Versailles, led to ethnic and geopolitical tensions which fueled further conflicts, including World War II.
Impact of Geopolitical Changes Post-WWI
The profound changes to the European map between 1914 and 1919, particularly as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, inevitably sowed the seeds for future conflicts on the continent. The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire led to the emergence of new nation-states such as Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, while Poland was reconstituted from lands previously under Russian control.
Furthermore, Germany lost territories like Alsace-Lorraine to France and parts of Prussia to the newly independent countries. These changes produced new social, political, and geographic tensions due to a multitude of ethnic groups finding themselves within new state boundaries, often against their wishes, which in turn led to disputes over national self-determination. The effects of enforced border changes and nationality mixing would become painfully apparent with the rise of Nazi Germany and the onset of World War II.
Nationalism and the desire for self-determination fueled the beginnings of these territorial changes. For instance, the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the nationalistic fervor in Austria-Hungary set the stage for World War I. Post-war, the Allied powers moulded the new European landscape without full consideration for ethnic realities on the ground, leading to a perfect storm of ethnic disputes, economic struggles, and revanchism.
Subsequently, unresolved issues, such as those in Germany, became catalysts for Hitler's aggressive expansionism, which led to the Second World War.
