Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Subcarpathian Rus in the context of the prehistory and consequences of the Munich Conference of 1938

Abstract

The article examines the circumstances, details, and elements of the struggle among Poland, Hungary and the ruling circles of Czechoslovakia for the influence on Subcarpathian Rus to use it in their own political expediency. Since Subcarpathian Rus was faced with the German military threat and involved in the “small collective security system” along with France and the Soviet Union in May 1935, it had to solve the problem of strategic interaction with the latter. As there were no common border between Subcarpathian Rus and the Soviet Union, the problem was solved by constructing a strategic railroad through the territory of Romania. As a result, Subcarpathian Rus, which located in the east of Czechoslovakia, found itself at the forefront of the interaction, largely forced, yet vitally necessary for the political leadership of Prague. The activity of Warsaw and Budapest, which intensified after the Munich conference, together with some other factors ended up in mid-March of 1939 with the proclamation of the independent “Subcarpathian Ukraine” and its immediate occupation by Hungary with the tacit permission of Germany.