Persecution of foreigners and economic nationalism. The confiscation of enemy property in Western Europe after the First World War

Journal title SOCIETÀ E STORIA
Author/s Cristiano La Lumia
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2025/191
Language Italian Pages 28 P. 94-121 File size 241 KB
DOI 10.3280/SS2026-191006
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The article explores the impact of economic persecution directed against citizens of enemy nationality – particularly Germans and AustroHungarians – in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Belgium following the First World War. The expropriation of foreign nationals from enemy states continued beyond 1918, sustained by the powers of liquidation granted through the peace treaties. The Allied Powers thereby sought to redefine the boundaries of citizenship and to redistribute wealth, pursuing policies driven by economic nationalism. A central objective was also the reconfiguration of global economic processes through confiscations designed to safeguard national security by excluding foreign actors from strategic economic and financial sectors. The essay further examines instances in which economic persecution was suspended or reversed, demonstrating how the victorious states at times used restitution as an instrument of inclusion or assimilation.

Keywords: economic nationalism; property; confiscation; nationality; restitution; economic persecution.

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Cristiano La Lumia, Persecuzione degli stranieri e nazionalismo economico. La confisca delle proprietà nemiche nell’Europa occidentale dopo la Prima guerra mondiale in "SOCIETÀ E STORIA " 191/2025, pp 94-121, DOI: 10.3280/SS2026-191006