The Nanovic Institute for European Studies

The Nanovic Institute for European Studies received a BIAAS grant for a 2.5-day workshop dedicated to creating a “moral biography” of the 1921 US-Austria Peace Treaty.

On August 24, 1921, the United States and Austria signed a Peace Treaty in Vienna in the aftermath of the First World War. This step was necessary for peace building purposes since the US Senate refused to consent to the ratification of the multilateral Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919 even though the President of the United States of America had been represented in this treaty by the Honourable Frank Lyon Polk (Under Secretary of State), the Honourable Henry White (formerly Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the US at Rome and Paris) and General Tasker H Bliss (Military Representative of the US on the Supreme War Council). The reason for the Senate’s refusal was the fact that the Treaty of Saint Germain contained the Covenant of the League of Nations.

The treaty from 1921 was of great importance for the US-Austrian relations after the First World War since it enabled the US government to enter a new quality of collaboration with Austria by also partially assisting the Austrian government to ease the burden of war reparations imposed in the Treaty of St. Germain. The approaching centenary of the 1921 peace treaty provides the opportunity to generate greater academic and public interest and understanding in US-Austrian relations broadly and in the US-Austrian bilateral agreement particularly, including its influence on short- and long-term relations.

The Nanovic Institute for European Studies enriches the intellectual culture of Notre Dame by creating an integrated, interdisciplinary home for students and faculty to explore the evolving ideas, cultures, beliefs, and institutions that shape Europe today.