‘The Best Justification of the Peace Conference’
By November 1918, the experts of the Political Intelligence Department (PID) were in agreement that the Czechs were likely to be a great asset in Central and Eastern Europe. Four months later, the spread of Bolshevism in Central Europe highlighted the strategical importance of the Bohemian mountain bastion. However, the leaders of the PID were alarmed by the apparent conflicts between the British representatives and the Czechoslovak government. The atmosphere in early 1920 was not conducive to British overtures in Prague. Anglo–Czechoslovak relations dramatically improved after Sir George Clerk moved into Thun Palace. He quickly became an intimate friend of President Masaryk. Throughout his seven years in Prague, Sir George regarded Czechoslovakia as the ‘lynchpin of Central Europe’, Britain’s best bridge to Russia, and the best justification of the Peace Conference.
Keywords: Prague, Czechoslovakia, President Masaryk, Sir George Clerk, Political Intelligence Department, Peace Conference, Central Europe, Anglo–Czechoslovak relations
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