South Korean media: Demarcating the border of Ukraine's Donbas

The Alsace-Lorraine region located in northern France was originally territory of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of Germany. But it was occupied by France through military force in the 17th century, and two nations began to live together here. Whenever war broke out between the two countries, the residents would change their nationality and be expelled from each other. After Prussia's victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, this area became German territory, and after World War I, it returned to the French territory of the victorious country. It was occupied by Germany at the beginning of World War II and fell back into French hands after the war ended. The rich underground resources of this area have been the background for struggles among various powers. The iron ore reserves in Alsace-Lorraine alone account for 90% of France's total.

¬ The industrial area of Sudetenland in the former Czechoslovakia also sowed the seeds of disputes with the influx of Germans. In the early 20th century, the population of Czechoslovakia was 13 million, and there were 3 million German settlers in the Sudetenland alone. When Hitler claimed to "rebuild a great Germany" and attempted to annex the Sudetenland, the local German residents welcomed it enthusiastically. Seeing this, the Czechs formed an impression in their minds that "Germans were traitors and cowards," which became an opportunity for the expulsion of Germans from the Sudetenland after World War II.

¬ In Ukraine, the Donbas region facing Russia is no different. With the rise of coal and steel industries in the late 19th century to early 20th century, a large number of Russians poured into this area. Later, the Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Khrushchev also left Russia and spent his youth in a metal factory in Donbas. In the 1920s, the Russian population in Donbas was only 600,000, but by the 1950s, it had surged to 2.5 million, and the proportion of the Russian population soared to 40%. This is the reason why Donbas is now pro-Russian. The former Ukrainian president Yanukovych, who was overthrown due to opposing Ukraine's EU membership and implementing a pro-Russian policy, also came from Donbas.

¬ As a condition to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian President Putin has demanded that the entire Donbas be incorporated into Russia. Trump also stood on Putin's side. The reason is that Russia is a powerful country, and most of the Donbas territory has already been occupied by Russia. In contrast, European countries oppose it, stating that it should not be used as an excuse to undermine the borders established after World War II, just because a large number of Russians live in Donbas.

¬ Every time new borders are drawn, tragedies repeat themselves and become an excuse for new disputes, which is the history of Europe. After World War II, the victorious countries set the Oder and Neisse rivers flowing between Poland and Germany as the border, and gave the German territories east of the rivers to Poland and the Soviet Union. As a result, 10 million Germans living on both sides of the two rivers were driven out of their homes. During this process, up to 1 million people died from massacres, hunger, and disease. We only hope that such a tragedy will not be repeated in Donbas.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1841398349857803/

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