The Comintern and the Crossroads of Europe
Class
Article
Department
History
Faculty Mentor
Tammy Proctor
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
The Third Communist International, aka the Comintern, was a major communist movement and organization sponsored by the Soviet Union to promote proletarian revolutions and the spread of communism throughout the world. Lasting from 1919-1943, it had a major influence on interwar politics and diplomacy. Czechoslovakia was a newly formed nation in the immediate aftermath of WWI and the only functioning democratic state in Eastern and Central Europe in the 1930s. It also was very close to the then border of the Soviet Union. Czechoslovakia, in the words of one of its greatest writers, Karel Capek, was the "crossroads of Europe" and considered an important geopolitical position in the interwar period. As such, it could not have escaped the notice of the Comintern during its active years. What was the relationship between the Comintern and the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia? Considering that Czechoslovakia underwent a communist coup in 1948 and the resurgent popularity of the Communist Party in immediate post WWII Czechoslovakia, it seems likely that the roots of this political support among the Czechoslovak population must be found in the interwar period and activity of the Comintern.
Start Date
4-9-2015 1:00 PM
The Comintern and the Crossroads of Europe
The Third Communist International, aka the Comintern, was a major communist movement and organization sponsored by the Soviet Union to promote proletarian revolutions and the spread of communism throughout the world. Lasting from 1919-1943, it had a major influence on interwar politics and diplomacy. Czechoslovakia was a newly formed nation in the immediate aftermath of WWI and the only functioning democratic state in Eastern and Central Europe in the 1930s. It also was very close to the then border of the Soviet Union. Czechoslovakia, in the words of one of its greatest writers, Karel Capek, was the "crossroads of Europe" and considered an important geopolitical position in the interwar period. As such, it could not have escaped the notice of the Comintern during its active years. What was the relationship between the Comintern and the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia? Considering that Czechoslovakia underwent a communist coup in 1948 and the resurgent popularity of the Communist Party in immediate post WWII Czechoslovakia, it seems likely that the roots of this political support among the Czechoslovak population must be found in the interwar period and activity of the Comintern.