Moscow: Publishing House "International Relations". 1970. 94 pages. It has a circulation of 30,000 copies. The price is 14 kopecks.
The Munich Agreement of 1938, which became the prelude to the Second World War, has always attracted and will continue to attract the attention of researchers. The years and events that have passed since then have revealed many obscure aspects and details of this shameful deal, but they have not changed the fundamental assessment given to Munich by Marxist historiography: This was an imperialist collusion between the "Western democracies" and the Nazis, directed against the Soviet Union.
International historian, political commentator of the newspaper Izvestia V. A. Matveev once again turns to the events of those years 1, which had such fatal consequences for the fate of the world. As the author emphasizes, "Munich contained all the elements of the tragedy that befell humanity as a result of the unleashing of Fascist aggression" (p. 5). At the same time, writes V. A. Matveev, Munich was the culmination of the policy of "appeasement" of the fascist aggressors, initiated by the Western powers long before 1938. The unperturbed reaction of London, Paris and Washington to the aggression of the Japanese militarists against China in 1931, to the seizure of Ethiopia by fascist Italy in 1936, to the occupation of the Rhineland by Hitler's troops in 1936 in violation of the Locarno Treaty, and finally, "non-intervention", and in fact aiding the Francoist rebellion in Spain-these are the milestones of the path that it led to the Munich betrayal.
Describing the events immediately preceding the Munich Conference, V. A. Matveev shows the complex and contradictory interweaving of the imperialist goals of the participants in the deal that was being prepared, but in which, nevertheless, the resultant is clearly traced: the desire to direct Hitler's aggression to the East. The author uses only recently known archives of the British Cabinet of Ministers for 1938, which allow us to reveal some behind-the-scenes moments of the preparation and implementation of the Munich agreement. These materials, in particular, contain a reference to the so-called "Plan Z", developed by the British Prime Minister N. Chamberlain. It was about a "general settlement" with the Hitlerites at the expense of Czechoslovakia and on an anti-Soviet basis (p. 33). At the same time, proposals were developed designed to satisfy the colonial appetites of Nazi Germany. "Plan Z" was embodied in the agreement signed by Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler and Mussolini in Munich. V. A. Matveev points out the special significance of the Declaration of non-aggression signed by Chamberlain and Hitler on September 30, 1938.
Considerable attention is paid to the position of the Czechoslovak bourgeois government in the face of the looming danger of a fascist invasion. The author notes the anti-national nature of the policy of the ruling circles of bourgeois Czechoslovakia. Analyzing the international situation on the eve of Munich, V. A. Matveev comes to the conclusion that Czechoslovakia could have been saved (p.51). There was a Soviet-Czechoslovak treaty of mutual assistance, concluded in 1935. The position of the USSR during the entire" Czechoslovak crisis " was consistently aimed at organizing the-
1 See V. A. Matveev. The failure of Munich politics. 1938-1939. Moscow, 1955.
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by rebuffing Hitler's aggressive claims. The Soviet government has repeatedly declared its readiness to provide military assistance to Czechoslovakia. However, at the crucial moment, its then rulers did not want to rely on the help of the USSR and capitulated under the pressure of "appeasers" (pp. 56-57).
V. A. Matveev gives a critical analysis of the main concepts of bourgeois historiography of Munich, which are characterized by the desire to justify the policy of"appeasement". Bourgeois authors persistently conceal the main goals of the Munich residents - the organization of an anti-Soviet conspiracy, in which the fascist powers were assigned the role of a striking force of imperialism. The subject of their special veneration is the "king of appeasers" N. Chamberlain, portrayed as nothing less than a noble fighter for peace. The same goal of rehabilitating the Munich residents is served by the thesis that the Western powers were not ready for war with Germany in the autumn of 1938. V. A. Matveev writes with good reason that this is a falsification, exposed by all available facts about the balance of forces in Europe. It was Munich that " predetermined the outbreak of World War II in unfavorable conditions for peace-loving forces. The foundations of European security were dealt a fatal blow "(pp. 63-64).
"Munich must not happen again" - this conclusion is the leitmotif of the book. The author recalls that even today there are forces in Germany that do not want to give up their revanchist hopes, despite the fact that the shameful Munich Agreement was crossed out by the struggle of peoples against fascism and the radical changes that took place in Europe after the Second World War (p.90). In these circumstances, the only correct solution for the West German Government is to declare the Munich Agreement invalid from the very beginning.
In a short work, V. A. Matveev was able to trace the history of the preparation and holding of the Munich Conference on the basis of the latest data. It combines strict documentary content with lively sketches of political figures, journalistically sharp observations and assessments that help recreate the atmosphere of hypocrisy and deception of public opinion in which the Munich betrayal was committed.
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