Italian-Czechoslovak Military Cooperation (1918–1919) in the Official Historical Memory of the Interwar Period

T collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918 led to a rupture in Central-European geopolitics, the likes of which were effectively unimaginable a mere four years earlier. Having a hand in the establishment of Czechoslovakia became an important source of political capital, which individual actors used to increase their influence and prestige on both the international stage and at home. In this paper, we discuss two dimensions of the memorialisation of Italian-Czechoslovak military cooperation in 1918–1919: one pertaining to ceremonies and the formal aspects of remembrance, and the other centred on the effects of international politics—specifically, the often-turbulent Italian-Czechoslovak relations—on commemorative practices. The main aim of the public commemorations of historical events was to strengthen and unite Czechoslovak society by providing some definite markers on which to build a national identity.1 In view of space constraints, this paper should be understood as a typological overview of the most significant methods and manifestations of official historical remembrance concerning the given era rather than a complete and exhaustive summary.