Customer Reviews

Czechoslovakia between Stalin and Hitler: The Diplomacy of Edvard Bene%s in the 1930s

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Lukes has performed the important service of reminding us that the most famous crisis before the Second World War was about more than an allegedly duped Chamberlain and an insane Hitler. As a well developed and democratic society living right next to the re-incarnation of an ancient tribal land, Benes and the Czechs found themselves face to face with irrationality in its worst form.

Lukes takes the reader into the unhappy place that the Czechs found themselves, and forces us to consider what might have been. An outstanding analytical work.

"Czechoslovakia Between Hitler and Stalin" was a very thought-provoking look at the crises between President Edvard Benes and Germany during the late 1930's. A must for anyone interested in World War II/Eastern European History.

Igor Lukes' "Czechoslovakia Between Stalin and Hitler" (1996 318 page paperback) tells the gripping story of the Czechs' struggle for domestic security and European acceptance during the interwar years of 1918 to 1938. It showcases, as the subtitle says, the diplomacy of foreign affairs minister turned president Edvard Benes.

Lukes informs about the Czechs' 20-year determination to protect their sovereignty in the face of rising Nazism across their western border. Treaties were made with France and the Soviet Union, which were ultimately denied by French and Bolsheviks for fear of Hitler's power and desire for war, to hold off the menacing Furher.

This study explains how Great Britain, with French collaboration and Soviet silence, forced Czechoslovakia to give land and populations to Hitler in the waning days of 1938 (in order to keep Europe at peace). This macabre action unleashed Nazi fury on innocent Bohemian, Moravian, and Slavic communities, extinguished the Czech democracy, and ultimately politically weakened the area for the Soviet invasion of 1948.

The principle personalities in the destruction of pre war Czechoslovakia are reviewed: Benes, Hitler, Stalin, Chamberlain, Daladier, and many more. The Czech border conflicts with Poland and Hungary are presented. Czechoslovakia's closest friendship through the period, Romania, is helpfully reviewed.

Lukes goes to great length in sourcing his work here (each chapter averages 10 pages of endnotes and 33 pages of bibliography). He cites period news item, periodicals, radio and TV interviews, political speeches, diplomats' period reports, declassified materials, and much more in presenting this history. From Hitler's war mania to Chamberlain's peace addiction to Stalin's quest for worldwide revolution Lukes explains them all. He boldly, and perhaps correctly, asserts that France lost forever its prestigue and power with its collaboration in the Munich Agreement on September 30, 1938.

This book teaches about the republican struggle for survival amid fascistic and communistic determination to destroy democracy. Its superb diplomatic history sets that stage for World War II in central Eastern Europe. It is recommended to everyone interested in Czechoslovakian history, the pre World War II period, and the political history of the former Eastern Block.

Professor Lukes' book is a gripping account of the Sudeten crisis that led to the break up of Czechoslovakia (the only democratic country in Eastern Europe at the time). A well-researched and, at the same time, very readable narrative, professor Lukes unravels the complex situation Czechoslovakia was in at the time. The increasing pressure from Germany and its tightly-controlled German minority in Czechoslovakia, Britain and France's shameful betrayal and dread of war, and Benes' growing danger are all clearly explained. My only criticism is for the author's clear dislike of Stalin and the Soviet Union. Despite being the only big power that squarely sided with Czechoslovakia at the time (even beyond its legal commitments), it is portrayed in the book as one of the main villains in the story. However egotistical Stalin's reasons may have been (and probably were), professor Lukes' sharp criticism is out of place here. As his own book shows, if we are looking for guilt in Czechoslovakia's betrayal, Britain and France are the ones to pick up.

All in all, a superb book, recommended for those interested (scholar or not) in this momentous crisis that led the world into World War II.

Most Americans are satisfied with the little bit we learn about WWII and its causes. Hitler blah blah blah. It's old news, and all of it is cliche. Well, not all.

Maybe because it's family (Edvard Benes is a distant relative) I was fascinated by this account. It certainly cast the "Great War" in a different light for me. An education.