Episode 40 - Into the Balkans We Go

On the continued Central European overview I stop in on Romania and Albania! Romania is a fun one because unlike a lot of other countries, they managed to get pretty much everything they ever wanted in the aftermath of WWI. It shouldn't come as a surprise though that this came at the cost of antagonizing several neighbors, which included the Soviet Union. Albania on the other hand was so wracked by division that it barely played any role in the events of the day, and I focus on how it became an Italian outpost in the region.    Bibliography for this episode:  Berend, Ivan Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II University of California Press 1998 Hitchins, Keith A Concise History of Romania Cambridge University Press 2014 Glenny, Misha The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers 1804-1999 Penguin Books Ltd 1999   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]