The Bolsheviks convinced themselves that by this agreement the Germans had miraculously conceded the status quo of 1914, prior to holding plebiscites in the contested regions. It was this same misinterpretation that fuelled the vicious attacks on Kühlmann from the German right. In fact, the German negotiators never had any intention of leaving it up to Lenin and Stalin to extend their idea of self-determination throughout the pre-war territory of the Russian Empire. As far as Kühlmann was concerned, following their liberation from the oppressive rule of the Tsar, the populations of Poland,
...more
