Sudeten Crisis of 1938 in the Eyes of Soviet Diplomats in Paris

Abstract

In the article, based on the analysis of unpublished archival materials, an attempt to find out how the Soviet representatives in France considered the causes, course and consequences of the Czechoslovak crisis of 1938 was made. The key factor of the crisis, in their opinion, was the helplessness of France as a guarantee of the security of Czechoslovakia. As far as during the military negotiations in 1937 the information they transmitted convinced the Soviet leadership that real cooperation with the French would not work. At the same time, responsibility for this was to go to Paris, and not to Moscow, what explained the prudent policy of Soviet diplomacy during the Sudeten conflict. With all the duality of this line, it let save the face of the Soviet Union in a situation of international isolation, what was the most important thing at that moment.