THE POLICY OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK GOVERNMENT AIMED AT NEUTRALIZING THE GERMAN THREAT DURING 1935 – 1938 WITH A FOCUS ON THE SITUATION IN SLOVAKIA

• Authors: Olejník Milan
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The second half of 1930s was a period of dramatic political changes in Europe. The stability established by peace agreements concluded after World War I underwent gradual but continual erosion. The main reason for the transforming political landscape was the political developments in Germany which resulted in the collapse of the democratic parliamentary system. In the spring of 1933 The Nazi Party assumed power in Germany and over the span of a few years succeeded in remaking Germany into a totalitarian state. In the context of Hitler´s political aims, the growing economic and military power of Germany constituted a clear threat to Central European states. The Czechoslovak government concluded that it had to apply all possible means to reinforce the defense ability of the state, and consequently a policy of rapid fortification on the border with Germany was initiated. The Czechoslovaks hoped that the Western powers (namely France, who had a defense treaty with the CSR and had on numerous occasions professed a determination to come to Czechoslovak defense in case of German aggression) would fulfill its obligation. Chamberlain, in an attempt to find accommodation with Hitler, arranged a conference with the French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, the Italian leader Mussolini and Hitler. Despite the fact that the fate of Czechoslovakia was about to be decided, no representative of the Czechoslovak Republic was invited. The signatories of the conference accepted Germany’s demands. This paper maps the steps taken by the Czechoslovak government to implement measures aimed at protecting the Republic against German aggression.

Keywords

EN

CZECHOSLOVAKIA; NAZI GERMANY; MUNICH AGREEMENT

• Publisher: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Social Sciences
• Journal: Človek a spoločnosť. Internetový časopis pre pôvodné teoretické a výskumné štúdie z oblasti spoločenských vied
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 1 – 24

Contributors

author

Olejník Milan

• Institute of Social Sciences, Centre of Social and Psychological Sciences of SAS, Košice, Slovak Republic