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Edvard Beneš: foreign policy of the second Czechoslovak President and its development in 1938-1945
Oraiqat, Jakub ; Smetana, Vít (advisor) ; Šmidrkal, Václav (referee)
In this master's thesis I am researching the foreign policy of Edvard Beneš in 1938- 1945. Foreign policy of Czechoslovakia is closely linked to Beneš as he led it continuously since 1918 - first as a minister of foreign affairs and after 1935 as president. Beneš did reassess his foreign policy after the Munich Agreement and Czechoslovakia emerged from the World War II tightly connected to the Soviet Union without any western counterbalance. This shift in foreign policy subsequently led to transformation of Czechoslovakia into Soviet satellite which is frequent subject to criticism of Edvard Beneš. The goal of this thesis is to analyse the development of the second Czechoslovak President's foreign policy in 1938-1945 and to define the causes of the shift in the foreign policy of Czechoslovakia. I will be focusing mainly on the backgrounds of determining the foreign policy since Edvard Beneš' statements depended mainly on the audience. I want to accomplish that based on research of memoirs and many more documents. I will confront my interpretations of the primary sources with views from the secondary sources. One of the goals of this thesis is also to find out if it's possible to draw new and valuable conclusions by researching available primary sources.
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Ratlines in the context of participating states
Vrzal, Adam ; Eberle, Jakub (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
This bachelor thesis deals with the motives of individual participants in the operation of escape routes called Ratlines, especially during and after the Second World War. Ratlines were escape routes that used to escape mainly Nazi war criminals from justice. The work first deals with the thirties and the period of war, which is associated with the creation of the first Ratlines in Spain. Furthermore, the work is devoted to the Red Cross and the process of issuing travel, so as to understand how the Nazis managed to gain a new identity. The last part of the thesis is devoted to the Italian Ratlines, where the functioning of the Refugee Assistance Commission and two of the most famous Italian Ratlines are examined. The main research question is the motivation of individual participants, which are mainly found anti-Semitic and national motives, which led to the participation of Alois Hudal or Krunoslav Draganovič in the issue of Ratlines. Another issue that the work dealt with was the participation of parts of the Roman Catholic Church, where the work came to the conclusion that it was primarily individuals or groups, as was the case of the two above-mentioned priests. In conclusion, the work deals with the influence of communism on the Roman Catholic Church and the emergence of the Ratlines,...
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The Influence of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games on the Foreign Policy of Nazi Germany and its Image in the International Community
Pokorný, Jiří ; Emler, David (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
The theme of the bachelor thesis is the influence of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games on the foreign policy of Nazi Germany and its image in the international community. The thesis aims to verify whether the Nazis managed to use the Olympic Games to improve the image of Nazi Germany abroad and then to leave the unfavorable foreign policy position in which it was located. The bachelor thesis is divided into two well-arranged parts, in the first one the author deals with the starting position of Germany in the international community and his foreign policy before the Olympic Games. In addition, in this section he deals with the Olympic Games themselves. In the second part, based on newspaper articles and an internal report produced by the Foreign Office, the author investigates the influence of the Olympic Games on the image of Germany abroad and later on its foreign policy. The Nazis sharply opposed the Olympics at a time when they were assigned to the fragile Weimar Republic as an award for their efforts to return the country to the cultural society of modern states. However, they realized in time what opportunity they had been given, and after joining the power they organized with great effort spectacular and, in many ways, progressive games that predetermined the direction the Olympic Movement would...
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State sponsored doping in Russia and anti-doping policy against it
Andrle, Vít ; Smetana, Vít (advisor) ; Svoboda, Karel (referee)
This bachelor thesis analyzes phenomenon of the state-sponsored doping in the Russian Federation and efforts of the anti-doping movement to fight against it. In four chapters this thesis focuses on the theoretical and historical context of using the doping substances, which is also connected with the formation of the anti-doping institutions. Further, it examines the development of doping environment in the Russian Federation and anti-doping policy in 21st century until the present day. The main goal of the thesis is to find out, if systematic doping in Russia really existed with support of state institutions, e. g. the Ministry of Sport of Russian Federation and the Russian Security Service. This enabled distribution and using of prohibited substances among top athletes in order to achieve the best results. At the same time, I will try to demonstrate on specific examples the involvement of non-state sports institutions in Russia, such as the All-Russian Athletics Federation and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. These institutions should be independent, but they were subjected to the state institutions mentioned above. Complementary with this, thesis will analyze development of specific reactions and steps of international sports organizations of anti-doping policy in the time. Proving of these...
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Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East between 1957 and 1958
Myslík, Martin ; Pondělíček, Jiří (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
With the Suez crises, according to American administration in the lead with the president Eisenhower, was created a vacuum of power in the Middle East. This vacuum was in the eyes of the American government needed to fill sooner, than Soviet Union and isolate pro- soviet state, like Egypt and Syria. To this purpose, the Eisenhower doctrine was created, which should fight against international communism. On the basis of the analysis of doctrine and its use on the countries of the Middle East, examine with the method of diplomatic history, bachelor's thesis provides look at shaping of American foreign politics in 1957 and 1958 in the region of the Middle East and its application compare with the wording of the doctrine and also from the American view on decolonization. The author of the thesis, in conclusion, summarizes that doctrine was successful in intimidating Soviet union from larger engaging in region, but on the analysis of the use of the doctrine shows, that mostly the doctrine was used in the fight against Arab nationalism not against communism. Which was in contradiction with doctrine, which was supposed to fight only against communism. Keywords Eisenhower doctrine, United States, Middle East, international communism, Crisis of Suez. Cold war, dekolonization
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The Image of Czechoslovakia in Contemporary English-Language Historiography
Smetana, Vít
This study analyzes the treatment of Czechoslovak history by historians writing in English during the past two decades, with the emphasis on political history as an axis of contemporary history. The author describes historians' approaches to major 20th-century events in Czechoslovakia, evaluating and summarizing their findings. The second part of the study focuses on Czech historiography of contemporary Czechoslovak history and its reception by the international historiographic community. The author emphasizes the need for mutual cooperation regardless of language barriers.
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The Soviet annexation of the Baltic states in 1940 and the Western reaction
Prokopová, Zuzana ; Švec, Luboš (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
This bachelor thesis deals with the international reaction to the occupation and following incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union in 1940. The main aim of this thesis is to answer question "What was the attitude of two western powers, the USA and the United Kingdom, regarding the annexation?". This thesis focuses on foreign policies of the USA and the UK towards the Soviet Union during the Second World War, both western countries decided to refuse the legitimacy of the annexation. This thesis also explains under which circumstances the governments and leaders of both states had to make decisions. In the analysis of the US foreign policy this thesis also deals with the Stimson Doctrine from the year 1932, which was important for the formulation of the US policy of non-recognition of forcible seizure of territory. The Doctrine was used in the case of the Baltic States, as well. Thesis further focuses on the formation of the Grand Alliance, also known as Big Three, and conferences of three allied leaders. The Baltic question had been an issue during the negotiations but at the Tehran Conference western leaders agreed to accept Soviet annexation de facto. However, de iure recognition has never been granted. This thesis also explains the events in the Baltics from August 1939 until the...
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Appraisal of Edvard Beneš in different interpretations of accepting the Munich Agreement
Oraiqat, Jakub ; Šafařík, Petr (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
Presented bachelor thesis examines different interpretations of accepting the Munich agreement and their influence on evaluation of the second president of Czechoslovakia Edvard Beneš. He was responsible for the foreign policy of the interwar Czechoslovakia and assumed decisive role in the Munich crisis. Because of these reasons the Munich agreement is mostly associated with the name of Edvard Beneš. Submitting to the Munich agreement is frequently interpreted differently and because of that there are significant differences in evaluation of the political deeds of Edvard Beneš. Reason behind these differences is a question whether should Czechoslovakia defy the Munich agreement and the nation defend itself against the German aggression. The answer to this question determines the method of interpreting the submission to the Munich agreement and also the appraisal of Edvard Beneš. That leads to a schism. From one point of view Edvard Beneš is described as a saviour of the nation but from the other one he is labelled as the one who broke the moral backbone of the same nation. We can find many questionable arguments behind interpretations of the submission to the Munich agreement as a mistake. There is a tendency to compare. But most of the comparisons are not suitable. There are also signs of...
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Evolution of British concepts of the territorial organization of the area of Czechoslovakia between the years 1918-1938
Malaniuk, Bohdan ; Smetana, Vít (advisor) ; Váška, Jan (referee)
This Master thesis, Evolution of British concepts of the territorial organization of the area of Czechoslovakia between the years 1918-1938, examines the attitude of the British foreign policy towards the territorial concept of Czechoslovakia in the interwar period. This thesis is a historiographical narrative study based primarily on the analysis of documents on British foreign policy from the period 1918-1938. The goal of this thesis is to evaluate how the British foreign policy makers reflected the existence of the new state formation in Central Europe and how their ideas about the suitability of such political organization in the area of Czechoslovakia was changing during the interwar period. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first covers the period after the First World War, when the borders of Czechoslovakia were decided and focuses on the British role in this process. The second chapter is dedicated to British reflections on the new state in the context of the new territorial organization of Central Europe during the twenties and early thirties. The third chapter deals with the changes in British policy towards Czechoslovakia in the context of the new geopolitical reality in Central Europe after the rise of Nazism in Germany. It tries to analyse the British standpoint on the...
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Narrative Development of Swedish Neutrality during Second World War
Pajerová, Anna ; Svobodný, Petr (advisor) ; Smetana, Vít (referee)
The Bachelor thesis is primary focused on the narrative development of Swedish neutral policy during Second World War. This thesis is a discourse analysis which compare different interpretations of Swedish national history of neutrality in the three main periods in the second half of the 20th century - during the Second World War, during the Cold War and during the post-Communist period. Each of this epoch was characterised by different discourses and mentality of the society which have been influenced by the timing, but also by the ideological view and policy of the Kingdom of Sweden as well as the whole world. The aim of this research is to answer not just the way the narrative of Swedish neutrality was developed during the second half of the 20th century, but also to find out which materials and sources the narrative was achieved - the academic papers, books, cinematography, etc. This research of narrative development of Swedish neutral policy was concentrained on the influences and factors which could have affected each discourses in the each period less or more. The discussion that was not miss out by this research is also the role of determination by the interior or exterior policy, by economical or sociological factors, etc.
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