Czechoslovak-Vatican Diplomatic Relations on the Eve of World War II

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study deals with the attitude of the Vatican towards the situation in Czechoslovakia in 1938–1939, within the context of international events on the eve of the Second World War. It describes and analyzes Czechoslovak-Vatican diplomatic relations, which underwent a rapid transformation in the second half of the 1930s. The Holy See had deep concerns about the escalating tension between Germans and Czechs in Czechoslovakia and between that country and Nazi Germany. With the threat of conflict, Pope Pius XI pleaded for peace. In the late 1930s, when Czechoslovakia became internationally isolated, the Vatican represented one of the few international voices in support of Czechoslovakia.