Railways in northern East Central Europe before, during and after the First World War

Abstract

The First World War had differentiated effects on the development and integration of the railway network in northern East Central Europe. This region was part of the German and Russian empires until the war and belonged to the Weimar Republic and the newly founded states of Poland and Lithuania after the war. Before the First World War, the rail network densities in the states were very contrasted, there were few cross-border lines. During the war, destroyed railway lines were quickly rebuilt, the railway network even expanded and standardized in terms of gauge. After the war, German-Polish traffic relations developed relatively well after the conflicts created by the new borders had been settled.

Biographical Note

Uwe Müller (SFB 1199 & GWZO Leipzig, Germany)

Uwe Müller studied history at Leipzig University and gained a PhD in economic history at the Humboldt University of Berlin. His research interests include the economic history of East Central Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with a special focus on the integration of this region in the European and world economy and the development of transport infrastructures.