HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ASSESSMENTS OF THE ANNEXATION OF GERMAN-SPEAKING TERRITORIES TO BELGIUM

The problem of the annexation of German-speaking territories to the Kingdom of Belgium in the interwar and war periods of the 20th century remains a poorly studied topic in Russian historiography to this day. However, there are a number of Russian scientists who have touched upon the issue of the annexation of the Eupen-Malmedy cantons to Belgium in the context of studying the history of the state in 1918 and 1939–1945, the linguistic split and the consequences of the First and Second World Wars. Interest in the issue of foreign historiography is due to timeless relevance of the topic for the state itself, its political and scientific figures, associated with the change of the national border in the history of Belgium. This is especially relevant for a small region on the border of Germany and Belgium, the history of which over the past 100 years has been so rich that this territory has formed into a full-fledged German-speaking community and for half a century has been a territory with legislative sovereignty and endowed with an unregistered status of autonomy. Within the framework of the article, the author for the first time conducts a historiographical study related to the study of the problem of the annexation of the German-speaking territories of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium. The scientific article is intended to show the degree of study of the issue in both domestic and foreign historiography.