Beneš, that "unpredictable Slavic mason": the attitude of Italy towa

The study analyses the attitude of Italy towards Czechoslovak plans for strengthening the status quo in Central Europe and the Danube Basin, which were of both economical and political nature. Czechoslovakia unsuccessfully tried to create a grouping of small and medium-sized states, which was supposed to lead to consolidation of that region. The reason was the fear of future economical and political pressure of Germany and of Italian power politics. Italy should stay out of this bloc. Czechoslovak plans were refused by Rome unequivocally as Italy aimed at establishing its own hegemony in Central Europe and the Danube Basin. Such contradictions resulted not only in further deterioration of Czechoslovak-Italian relations but also in deterioration of personal relations between the leading politicians of both countries. Finally, Edvard Beneš, the Czechoslovak foreign minister, became regarded as an enemy of Italy and Fascism by the Italians. The study is based on unpublished Italian, Austrian and Czechoslovak sources as well as on secondary literature.