The First World War marked a major turning point in the position of minorities in Europe and elsewhere. By using a series of examples, this chapter discusses the position and role of ethnic minorities in Europe and elsewhere, policies and experiences of ethnic outsiders during the Great War, while making comparisons between minority groups. It also illustrates the complexity of experiences. Dispersed European minorities fall into six groups. First Jews, resident in Europe and Asia since antiquity and almost ubiquitous as a result of both recent and centuries-old patterns of persecution and migration. Secondly, the authors identify Romanies, arriving in Eastern Europe from India in the twelfth century and then gradually moving westwards. The third key dispersed grouping was made up of German-speaking populations who lived largely in Central and Eastern Europe. The other three dispersed minorities who lived largely in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe are Muslims, Greeks and Armenians.