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This article examines nation-building in relation to education and educationalinstitutions, taking two former big players in European politics in the wake of theFirst World War as examples: the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. TheHabsburg Empire is examined by focusing particularly on textbooks around and after1918, comparing them with each other and understanding them as major tools forspreading national ideas within state school. As will be shown, the idea of an Austriannation can hardly be found, neither before nor immediately after the break of 1918,in the sense of the ideology of a nation-state. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empireis being examined as an example for doing nation in a process of transformation ofsocial structures within non-western societies through western-style schools, thuscontributing to nationally substantiating the Republic of Turkey. This article examinesthe imperial foundations of these two nation-states and how they and the precedingempires dealt with the modern concept of nation and nationalism.Key words: Austria; Habsburg Empire; nation-building; Ottoman Empire; Turkey