Eastern Europe & Origins of Second World War

Until now, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania and the Baltic States have been treated as victims, powerless in the face of Nazi aggression. Anita Prazmowska disagrees with this limited approach and suggests an alternative view, namely that of states which had to grapple with complex economic, political and military dilemmas. Amongst those, British and French indifference was seen as nearly as dangerous as German, Italian and Soviet interference in the region.Otherwise inexplicable conundrums, of Czechoslovak passivity in 1938, Polish bullishness in the face of British offers of aid in 1939 and the perception that the Romanian king was too cunning for his own good are also tackled. The states from the Baltic to the Balkans are given their place in European History and, in particular, in the origins of the Second World War. ANITA J. PRAZMOWSKA is Senior Lecturer in History in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics.