Map of Europe after WWI (I& S10WH Unit 6 Lesson 4) - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

First, we need to understand what the task is asking:

1. You’re given a blank map of Europe after World War I (WWI). Some countries are already drawn and labeled — those are the “existing” countries that were around before WWI or survived it unchanged.
2. The blank spaces are for countries that were created *after* WWI — these are the “new” countries.
3. Your job is to:
- Label all the blank countries using your knowledge (or a reference map) of Europe after WWI.
- Color the existing countries one color.
- Color the new countries a different color.

Now, let’s think about which countries existed before WWI and which ones were created after.

Countries that existed BEFORE WWI (and mostly stayed the same):
- United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland was part of UK then)
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Italy (unified in 1861, so existed before WWI)
- Sweden
- Norway (was in union with Sweden until 1905, but independent by WWI)
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Switzerland
- Greece
- Romania (existed before, though borders changed slightly)
- Bulgaria (existed before, though lost territory)
- Serbia (existed before, though expanded later into Yugoslavia)
- Montenegro (small country, existed before)
- Ottoman Empire (still existed at start of WWI, but collapsed during/after — its European parts became new countries)

Wait — actually, some of these changed a lot. Let’s focus on what’s typically considered “existing” vs “new” in post-WWI maps used in schools.

In most school worksheets like this, “existing countries” means those that were sovereign states before 1914 and kept their identity after WWI (even if borders shifted).

“New countries” are those formed from the collapse of empires: Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire.

So here’s a typical list:

✔ Existing Countries (color one color):
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Italy
- Sweden
- Norway
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Switzerland
- Greece

⚠️ Note: Germany existed before WWI, but lost territory and became smaller — still usually counted as “existing”.

✔ So add:
- Germany (Weimar Republic after WWI)

Also:
- Russia → became Soviet Union, but often still colored as “existing” since it’s the same core state.

But wait — many worksheets treat Russia/USSR as existing, even though it changed government.

Let’s go with common classroom practice:

Existing Countries (pre-WWI sovereign states that continued after):
- UK
- France
- Spain
- Portugal
- Italy
- Germany
- Sweden
- Norway
- Denmark
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Switzerland
- Greece
- Russia (as USSR, but same landmass)
- Romania (existed, though gained territory)
- Bulgaria (existed, though lost territory)
- Serbia (existed, though became part of Yugoslavia later — tricky!)

Actually, Serbia is often treated as becoming part of a new country — Yugoslavia.

This is getting complicated. Let’s simplify based on standard middle/high school curriculum.

Typical “NEW” countries after WWI (formed from broken-up empires):

🌍 From Austro-Hungarian Empire:
- Austria
- Hungary
- Czechoslovakia
- Poland (recreated — existed long ago, but not between 1795–1918, so often called “new”)
- Yugoslavia (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes — formed from Serbia + former Austrian lands)

🌍 From Russian Empire:
- Finland
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland (also from Russian partition)

🌍 From Ottoman Empire:
- Turkey (successor state, but often colored differently)
- Sometimes Albania is included (declared independence 1912, recognized 1913 — so technically pre-WWI, but small and sometimes grouped with new)

Albania declared independence in 1912, so it existed before WWI ended — but many maps include it as “new” because it wasn’t well-established.

To avoid confusion, let’s use the most common breakdown for this type of worksheet:

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Step-by-step labeling:

Look at the blank areas on the map. Here’s what should be labeled in the blanks:

1. Poland – between Germany and Russia
2. Czechoslovakia – south of Poland, north of Austria/Hungary
3. Austria – small country south of Czechoslovakia
4. Hungary – east of Austria
5. Yugoslavia – south of Hungary, along Adriatic coast (includes Serbia, Croatia, etc.)
6. Finland – north of Russia, next to Sweden
7. Estonia – northeast, on Baltic Sea
8. Latvia – south of Estonia
9. Lithuania – south of Latvia
10. Possibly Albania – tiny country on Balkan coast, south of Yugoslavia

Also, Turkey might be shown where Ottoman Empire was — but often only the Anatolian part is left.

And Russia may be labeled as “Soviet Union” or just “Russia”.

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Coloring:

Pick two colors. For example:

🔵 Blue = Existing countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc.)

🟢 Green = New countries (Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, maybe Albania)

Note: Some teachers consider Germany and Russia as “existing” even though they changed — because they weren’t newly created nations.

Serbia is tricky — it existed before, but became part of Yugoslavia. In many maps, Yugoslavia is colored as “new”, and Serbia isn’t labeled separately.

Same with Croatia, Slovenia — they didn’t exist as independent countries until much later.

So for this assignment, label the big new countries listed above.

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Final Check:

Make sure you’ve labeled every blank space. Common missing ones:

- Don’t forget Iceland? No — it was part of Denmark until 1944, so not independent after WWI. Leave it uncolored or as part of Denmark? Usually not labeled separately in this context.

- Ireland? Was part of UK until 1922 — so in 1919 map, still UK. But some maps show Irish Free State emerging — probably not for this level. Stick with UK including Ireland.

- Ukraine? Part of Russia/USSR then — not independent.

So stick to the main 10 new countries listed.

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Final Answer:

Label the following countries in the blank spaces:
Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and optionally Albania.

Color these NEW countries in one color (e.g., green).
Color all other countries (like UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria) in another color (e.g., blue).

Double-check with your teacher before turning in — especially for borderline cases like Albania or how Serbia/Yugoslavia is handled.