Page Title

         Human Rights Essays #IV

         How Masaryk Influenced Historic Events

                                     By Karl Hausner

In Prague in 1896, thanks to his connections and those of his wife's
family, Masaryk made an acquaintance with the extraordinarily
wealthy American Industrialist and diplomat Charles Crane (1858 -
1931), with whom he established a very close friendship. Crane
became a large financial donor to Masaryk and financed, in a large
scale, the then Czech and Slovakian resistance against the
Habsburg Monarchy in the U.S.A. Through the Englishmen Henry
W. Steed and Robert Seton-Watson, they cultivated direct contacts
with government circles in London. In 1912, Crane financed the
election campaign of Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924), who
in 1913, became the American President.   Crane became his
counselor in the White House.   Thus, Masaryk established a very
effective Czech lobby with the new administration. The son,
Richard Crane (1882-1938), was Private Secretary to the Secretary
of State in Washington during World War I. From 1919-1922, Jan
Masaryk, the son of Thomas G. Masaryk, worked from 1907-1913 at
the branches of the Firm Crane in Bridgeport, Chicago. He married
Crane's daughter, Leatherby.

From 1919 to 1920, Jan Masaryk was, Charge d'affaires at the State
Department for Czechoslovakia, and afterwards, until 1939, Czech
Ambassador in London. Since England did not accept the
Protectorate status in Bohemia and Moravia, he maintained his
position. While at the side of Benes, he became the Foreign
Minister in exile and later from 1945 to 1948 in Prague. During the
Communist take-over, he lost his life at the so-called
Defenestration of Prague, details of which remain unclear to this
day.

In 1945, Jan Masaryk gave to his colleague Josef Koerbel, born in
1909 in Geiersberg (father of U.S. Secretary of State Madeline
Albright), the villa at the Hradschin Plaza No. 11, now the restaurant
"U Labuti". Previously, the very-well-to-do German owner, the
Nebrich family, had to leave their villa at a moment's notice with
only hand-carried belongings. In 1948, the Koeerbels, who in the
meantime called themselves Korbel, took with them in their
escape to the U.S.A., the entire inventory, including valuable oil
paintings. The German Spiegel commented on this (17/1999).
Madeleine Albright and her brother are thus far refusing to return
the stolen property to the Nebrich sisters.

Another important, downright fateful personality in the web of
Czech-American connection built mainly by Masaryk, was Emanuel
Viktor Voska. He was born in Kuttenberg 9Kutna Hora) on the 4th
of November in 1875 and emigrated to America in 1894. The
trained stone-sculptor became construction entrepreneur, bought
several marble quarries and quickly attained considerable wealth.
This man, hardly mentioned by historians, was also politically very
active, intimately close to Charles Crane, and worked extensively
with Czech militant associations in America and the Wilson
government. He was the leader of the Czech "Sokol", a socialistic
association, and the association of Free Thinkers. He was also a
publisher of several magazines in the Czech language. In 1902 he
he became acquainted with Masaryk. In 1910 and 1912 he invited
Masaryk and organized at his own expense, exclusive lecture tours
in the U.S.A., at which time considerable sums of money were
collected for Masaryk's effort to destroy the Habsberg Empire.

During that time there were, besides Voska, Stefan Osusky, an
attorney in Chicago (1889 - 1973), and Vojta Benes (1878-1951), who
had emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1915. They were active in the Czech
resistance in the U.S.A. and were able to collect large contributions
for Masaryk, In the fall of 1914, there began the close collaboration
of Masaryk with the brother of Vojta, Eduard Benes (1884-1948),
and somewhat later with M.R. Stefanik (1880-1919). Both lived in
Paris and cultivated contacts with the highest French, Italian and
English circles. Thus, Paris was the European center of the
Czechoslovakian underground organization, which stood in close
connection with the "Mafia" of Prague, led by Karel Kramar (1860 -
1937).

                             Preparing For World War I
       And the Destruction of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire

In June 1914, Voska came to Prague to see Thomas Garrigue
Masaryk and other Czech politicians to consult in the event of a
possible war. On his return trip at the end of August in 1914, he
traveled from Holland to London. There he gave to W. Steed of the
Englsh Secret Service Masaryk's detailed report concerning the
political situation in Austria-Hungary. After Voska's return to the
U.S.A., he advancd the Czech association of the American Czechs
and Slovaks. He organized actions for the support of the Czech
resistance against the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy and financed
it decisevely from both his own sources and also through
donations from associations. In 1914/1915 he founded a courier
service between native and the foreign Czech resistance. Already
instituted by Masaryk, he could skim dependable sources directly
fro the Viennese Court and forward this valuable, up-to-date
information, to the Western Allies. For this, he was generously
financed by the English Secret Service. At times, he engaged two
couriers monthly, en-route between Vienna, Prague, Paris, London,
Chicago and Washington.   Until 1917, St. Petersburg was also
included. In 1915, he founded with Czech countrymen in the
U.S.A., counterespionage agains the German and
Austria-Hungarian espionage service.

While in Switzerland, on the 6th of July in 1915, Masaryk declared
wat against Austria-Hungary in the name of the yet only aspiring
Czechoslovakia. Masaryk encouraged Czech and Slovak soldiers
to desert. Sometimes, even entire units up to the regimental level
deserted from the Austrian-Hungarian frontlines to Russia, the
Balkans and Italy. They became known as legionaries. For that<
Masaryk, Benes and some others, were sentenced to death in
absentia for high treason by the Austrian court. Later they were
pardoned by Emperor Karl, the successor of Franz Josef.

After the declaration of war by the U.S.A. in the spring of 1917,
Voska was called into the American army with the rank of captain,
and he became the liaison officer between the Czech legions and
the U.S. army. From April until September of 1917 he was in
Russia (at the same time as Masaryk). There he organized the
American espionage service (Slav Press Bureau). In 1918/1919 he
was in charge of the Central-European espionage section of the
American General Staff.

Voaka, from the beginning of the war, informed the
decision-making personalities of the personal liaison between
Masaryk and President Wilson (!). In 1919, he became consultant
for the American delegation at the Peace Conference in Paris.

Conference partner to the Czech delegation under the leadership
of Karel Kramar was Dr. Eduard Benes. This delegation was
counted among the victorious powers. Therefore, it had in
addition to this status, its direct authorities in the circle of the
American President. (On June 3, 1918, Masaryk's outline). The
French side was led by Clemenceau (incidentally, when he died,
he was buried standing up-a fact known by Johannes Rammund De
Balliel-Lawrora through his grandfather, Anton
Balliel), whose hatred of the German-Austrian war enemies was
well known. Also the propaganda activity of the Benes group in
Paris and the politicians of the Western powers was supported by
the counsel of Masaryk, Benes, Stefanik and Voska. American
politicians often were not able to differentiate betwee Bosnia,
Bohemia, Slovena and Slovakia. Thus, Benes especially, was able
to operate with falsified maps relative to the settlement area and
false statements as to the number of Sudeten--Germans and
Magyars. He used a number of 1.6 million instead of the factual
figure of 3.6 million Sudeten-Germans and well over a million other
ethnic groups. The Sudeten-German representation under Rudolf
Lodgman vonAuen, (1877-19620, as part of the German-Austrian
delegation, was from the outset in a losing position. Thus the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire, in the dictate of St. Germain was
destroyed, which would have been the foundation of United
Europe. The U.S. Senate never ratified the treaties of
Saint-Germain and Versailles and thus,world War II was aklo
continuation of these conflicts. (Incidentally, at Versailles, the
Germans and Austrians were forced to sit on shortened stools so
that the so-called victorious allies could further insult those that
lost the war. All questions thrown at the Germans and Austrian
were answered as questions by the allies, and answered by them,
in order to further degrade their characters - GAWHS).

After 1919 Voska lived as a businessman and entrepreneur in the
CSR. Politically, he was active in the Social-Democratic Party, and
published several articles about the Czech resistance during World
War I. In 1936/1937 he supported the Communist revolution in
Spain. On the 16th of March in 1939 he was arrest by the Gestapo,
but for "reasons of Health" was soon released. In June of 1939 he
was aple to return to the U.S.A.

In 1940 Voska's book Spy and Counterspy was published, which he
had written together with W. Irwin. From 1941-1945 he was in
Turkey as an American itelligence officer (colonel), returning to the
CSR in 1945. He was incarceratedmby the Czech communists in
1959. He died shortly after his release in 1960 and was
posthumously fully rehabilitated in 1991.

The close and direct connection and the immediate influence of the
Czech emigrants, respectively such dependable authorities as
Charles Crane and Voska upon the Wilson government, obviously
played a substantial role in the entry of the U.S.A. into World War I
in 1917. The Czechs and their friends were interested in the total
defeat of the Central Powers, especially Austria-Hungary. Due to
the absence of Russia on the battlefield following the 1917
Bolshevik Revolution, they saw their goal in great danger. The
American declaration of war in 1917 and the later deployment of 1.2
million U.S. troops, gave Masaryk and his group new confidence.
When, on the 18th of October in 1918, President Wilson declined to
accept the last peace offer of the Austrian Emperor Karl, it elicited
an immense jubilation amont Czech nationalists. On the same day,
Masaryk proclaimed in Pittsburgh the foundation of
Czechoslovakia. This was the deathblow for the
Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy. Czech politicians claimed that
President Wilson and the Allies in Central Europe would not have
acted without the consent of Masaryk. With that, the U.S.A.
attained a position of World power.

Masaryk, through his manifold fund raising actions, meanwhile had
substantial financial means at his personal disposal. Without
difficulty, he was able to undertake numerous travels with his
daughter Olga between America and Europe to the Far East and
Russia. In addition, he provided for the pay of his collaborators,
couriers and agents, including the legionaries. In 1923, he agave
each of his family members and also Eduard Benes 2.05 million Kc.
He bought a house in Auspitz for his legal father, and for his "half
brother" Ludwig, he equipped a printing shop. Considerable
amounts were also transferred to various friends, publishers and
foundations. In 1932, he deposited 10 million Kc into the Masaryk
Foundation. (At that time, the country was in a depression).

During the course of his life Masaryk evolved from a young
German-Austrian scholar, who only advocated a larger Bohemian
autonomy, into a champion, intellectually and linguistically, for a
Czech national state. He demanded the /czech claim for everything
within the borders of Bohemia, Moravia, Sudeten-Silesia and
Slovakia. In his message on the 23rd of December in 1918, he
described the Sudeten-Germans as having come into the country
as immigrants and colonists. In an interview on the 10th of January
in 1919 he indicated, one would for these strangers in the country
... perhaps create a certain modus vivendi, and should they prove
to be loyal citizens, it might even be possible for our parliament to
grant them, at least in the arena of public education, a certain
autonomy. In areas settled by Germans he said: "Besides, I am
convinced, that a very swift de-germanization of these areas will
take place". It is imaginable that he would expect for the Germans
in the country, or at least for many of them,to be Czechs, as he did
himself.

As it emerges from the memoirs of Herbert Hoover, Wilson's
successor in the American presidency, Masaryk was even willing
to forgo a part of western Bohemia, in order not to incorporate
many Germans into the new state. He asked Hoover "to influence
President Wilson to the effect that the Presidentg might oppose the
integration of this area, because it would place him (Masaryk) into a
difficult situation with his colleagues if he were to do it himself">
Less Germans in the land would have meant that even with a
relative autonomy of the ethnic groups, the Czech majority vs. the
sum of all the others would have been secured. However, in the
negotiations agt Saint-Germain, the French prevailed, especially
Clemenceau, who "insisted upon leaving as many Germans as
possible in Czechoslovakia in order to weaken Germany". Now
Masaryk and Benes stressed sepecially the thesis of a
Czech-Slovakian nation in order to insure the majority through the
inclusion of the Slovaks. Masaryk also had the confidence of M. R.
Stefanik, the Slovak leader. Yet he, because of President Wilson's
14 points regarding the peoples' self-determination was only
agreeable to begin with a cantonal federation (similar to
Switzerland) of states for a probationary period of ten years.
Through this substantial demand in the name of the Slovakian
people, he became antagonized with Eduard Benes. This was "the
reward" for having introduced Benes into the highest political
circles in France and Italy. Also for organizing the Czech and
Slovak legions who, independent of their questionable actions in
Russia, served as proof of the Czech war participation and thus, the
new nation was counted as a victorious power.   It became the key
to the foundation of the state.

After the conclusion of the peace conference of St. Germaine, most
of the promises were ignored by Benes and Masaryk.
Czechoslovakia actually should have become a non-military state
with guaranteed self-determination, fashioned in the character of
Switzerland (neutrality and cantonal autonomy). The first
demonstration of power by the Czechoslovak state was the military
occupation of the Sudetenland and Slovakia, crushing all
resistance by force. The national minorities had to mourn their
first dead. (March 4, 1919 over 50 German demonstrators including
women and children were shot to death and many were wounded).

The only one in opposition to be taken seriously in this matter, was
the Slovak Stefanik, a French Officer, and in the end a general. His
deadly "accident" on the 4th of May in 1919, eliminated him. (This
was most likely an assassination, like that of Jan Masaryk in 1948).

The bodily decline of the elerly Masaryk, who was becomin
increasingly blind and senile, allowed Benes an altogether free
hand, and the great tragedy took its course, making the 3.5 Million
Sudeten Germans and the minorities strangers in their own
homeland. Certainly not what was promised to be a country like
Switzerland.

From Another Poin Of View

Masaryk & America - Testimony of a Relationship

From the Introduction of Subject Book

By George J. Kovtun

Library of Congress
Washington 1988

In 1902, Masaryk traveled to America at the invitation of the
philanthropic industrialist Charles R. Crane, who had established a
foundation for Slavic lectures at the university of Chicago. By a
happy coincidence, Crane turned out to be a friend of Woodrow
Wilson's, a fact that was to serve Masaryk well until 1918. Two
years elapsed between Masaryk's first and second journeys to
America. During this period, he became a well-known figure in
Czech public life. He was assigned to the new Czech university in
Prague as a philosophy professor, after which he founded a
periodical, Athenaeum, in which he practiced what he called
"scientific criticism". He published several books on the problems
of Czech history and politics, and on social andphilosophical
questions. In the years 1891-93 he represented the Young Czech
Party in the Austrian parliament in Vienna.

During Masaryk's second visit in the USA (which lasted three
months) Masaryk made an extended tour of the Czech immigrant
centers, visiting New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore,
Cleveland, Cedar Rapids, and other cities. He had not yet
presented a political program of independence, but speaking on a
variety of subjects (religion, socialism, Czech literature and
history) he clearly contributed to Czech and also Slovak national
aspirations.

On his third visit, in 1907, Masaryk came to America as a Czech
intellectual whose political role had received fresh impetus. He
began his journey shortly after having been elected a member of
the Vienna Parliament for a second term, representing the small
Progressive Party, which he helped create in 1900. He arrived in
New York on August 7 and stayed in America for two months. He
participated in the Congress of the Religious Liberals in Boston and
again visited the Czech immigrants. His appearances before the
Czech-Americans culminated in a series of speeches delivered at
the Association of Czech Freethinkers in Chicago.

It was his fourth and last visit to America that made history. He
came at the beginning of May 1918, as the leader of the
Czechoslovak Liberation Movement, and left in November, already
the first President of Czechoslovakia (without any vote by the
Czech or Slovak people). Masaryk had left Austria-Hungary in
December 1914, traveling to then neutral Italy. From there he
moved to Switzerland and to France, and in October 1915 settled
down in Great Britain. He worked for the cause of a "free
Czechoslovakia" in the West European Allied capitals. When the
Tsarist autocracy was replaced by a provisional republican
government in Petrograd in March of 1917, Mazaryk went from
England to Russia, where he hoped to recruit thousands of
volunteers from the ranks of the Czech and Slovak prisoners and
deserters of war for his army. During World War I, Masaryk
traveled with a false passport he had received from the British
government, alway as a "Professor".   In Russia he succeeded in
organizing the largest Czechoslovak army in Russian domestic
conflicts, and its later transfer to France, where reinforcements
were sorely needed against the German onslaught. (Contrary to
these agreements, Czech legions robbed and even destroyed
Russian villages).

Recognizing the growing importance of the United States, which
finally declared war on Austria-Hungary in December 1917,
Masaryk traveled to America. He crossed European Russia and
Siberia in a train. After a brief stay in Japan, he sailed from
Yokohama to Vancouver, and arrived i n Chicago on May 5, 1918.

His political aims became evident in the second section of the
book. ("Lobbying for an Independent State"), consisting mainly of
documents which show the American Czechs and Slovaks
campaigning for a program of self-determination and
independence, as well as Masaryk's own explanation of his goals.
In the third section of the book, ("Masaryk and American ideals"
and "Masaryk and Wilson") we see from Masaryk' declarations,
statements, and letters how he valued American democratic
tradition, and Woodrow Wilson as the interpreter of this tradition.
Clever as he was, he became a mastermind behind Wilson's
Fourteen Points of Self-determination for Europe, which was a
direct contradiction to Wilson's "melting pot" ideology in the United
States.

Masaryk owed his invitation to lecture at Chicago University in
1902 to the recommendation of the French Slavist Louis Leger and
to his knowledge of English. Before his second trip to the United
States he was visited by one of the founders of Slavic studies in
America, Leo Wiener who wrote the first report about Masaryk for
the American press.

During his last visit in the United States before the First World War
in 1907, Masaryk earned the special attention of the Association of
Galician and Bukovinian Jews, which held a public gathering in his
honor.

Before returning to the United States in September of 1914, Voska
offered himself to Masaryk as a courier for his contacts with the
Western countries.

In March of 1915, most of the scattered Czech groups were united
in the Bohemian National Alliance (BNA). In October of the same
year, the BNA formally entered into an agreement with the Slovak
organization, the Slovak League of America, to pursue jointly the
aim of political independence under the banner of
self-determination.

Before the Czech and Slovak immigrants could develop their
anti-Habsburg propaganda effectively, Masaryk sought assistance
from individual American sympathizers, among whom Charles R.
Crane was the key person. Masaryk informed Crane in a letter
written on February 1915, from Geneva, that the Czechoslovak
revolutionaries "prepare the extreme steps a nation can and must
do to get her independence", and asked for financial help. Crane
furnished material assistance and arranged for the first interview
by an American correspondent with Masaryk during the war.

Not all the people who were willing to recommend Masaryk to
Wilson's attention believed in the feasibility and success of
Masaryk's aim. The American Journalist Norman Hapgood, a friend
of Wilson's, sent a copy of one of Masaryk's memoranda from
London to the White House on January 29, 1917, but said in his
accompanying letter. "I myself am not for an independent
Bohemia, but I think Professor Masaryk deserves a hearing".

The first recognition of Masaryk's idea was given by France in the
time of the premiership of Briand, who promised assistance to the
Czech people. When President Wilson sent his inquiry to the Allies
concerning their program, their response included, among other
things, the independence of the Czechoslovak nation. That was
solemnly promised by the Allies.

Masaryk in the Spotlight

Officially Washington received Masaryk as an expert on Russia
who, it was hoped, would throw some new light on the enigmatic
developments in that disorganized country. His idea of
psychological warfare, which made use of the antagonism between
the Slavic peoples of Austria and the German-oriented
government was, however, not always understood by the
diplomats.

When Breckinridge Long (Third Assistant Secretary of State) on
September 17, 1918 wrote his second memorandum dealing with
Masaryk, the United States had already recognized Masaryk's
movement as the de facto government of Czechoslovakia. The
subjects of the conversation between Long and Masaryk included
economic assistance and the situation of Czechoslovak Legions in
Russia. Masaryk used the opportunity to reemphasize his concept
of the independence of small nations as a necessary and useful
principle of international order, which he did not actually plan to
implement in Czechoslovakia, though in America he did not admit
to this.

In October 1918, Masaryik prepared the Czechoslovak Declaration
of Independence, which was clearly inspired by the American
Declaration of 1776. (What a propaganda scheme it was). The
Czechoslovak Declaration (whose official version is in English),
was drafted by Masaryk, edited with the assistance of several
American friends, and released by Masaryk in October of 1918, as
the final solemn act of his revolutionary movement.

Masaryk and Wilson

The first message, addressed by Masaryk directly to Wilson,
arrived in Washington on December 13, 1917. Masaryk sent a
telegram from Kiev after he had heard the United States declaratio
of war on Austria-Hungary. He was convinced that America's full
participation in the war against the Central Powers was the logical
conclusion of a necessary development. (Now, the United States
supports the creation of a European Union, which existed in a small
way, during the time of the Austrain-Hungarian Empire, which had
to be destroyed in 1919).

The first meeting between Masaryk and Wilson is described in two
documents. Shortly after his visit to the White House on June 19,
1918, Masaryk wrote a hasty note in Czech, summarizing the main
points of the conversation. The note was published in a Czech
collection of coduments in Prague in 1953. For his own record and
to inform his friends, Masaryk also wrote, or dictated an English
note on his meeting with Wilson. One copy of the note was handed
to Richard Crane, the son of Charles R. Crane and private secretary
to Robert Lansing.

After it had become obvious that the Czechoslovak soldiers in
Russia were entangled in a conflict with Bolshevik units (because
they were robbing peasants). Masaryk asked the American
Government for assistance. Wilson, while maintaining his negative
view concerning a military intervention in Russia, was finally
impressed by the appeals of France and Britain and agreed to
dispatch several thousand American troops to the area of
Vladivostok, not to intervene in Russian affairs, but to safeguard
"the country to the rear of the westward-moving Czech-Slovak
Legionnaires."   Masaryk was thankful for the decision.

When Masaryhk came to see Wilson on September 11, 1918, the
question under discussion included assistance for the
Czechoslovak Army in Russia, the recent agreement between the
Czechoslovak National Council and the British government, and the
possibility of a Japanese supreme command over foreign troops in
Siberia. (Mostly Czech and Slovak legionnaires).

In October 1918, Masaryk became the head of the Mid-European
Union, a group of Central European representatives, residing in the
United States. On October 26, 1918, the Mid-European Union,
convening in Philadelphia issued a "democratic" manifesto called
the "Declaration of Common Aimes". Masaryk used the
opportunite to send the declaration to Wilson to explain his
concept of European reconstruction (Wilson's Fourteen Points).

The last meeting between Masaryk and Wilson took place on
November 15, 1918. Masaryk, fearing a loss of prestige for the
American President, advised Wilson against becoming personally
involved in mthe detailed European questions at the peace
conference. His apprehension is shown in a Czech note written in
his hand and published in facsimile in Jan Herben's biography. T.
G. Masaryk. (Wilson in poor healtlh, had become a liability in the
upcoming dictates of peace).

From Masaryk's book Svetova Revoluce (The Making of a State): "I
begun my personal relations with President Wilson relatively late.
I arrived in Washington on May 9, 1918, aned met Wilson for the
first time on June 19, the invitation being conveyed by Mr. Charles
R. Crane. "In all my political campaigns abroad it has been my
method to try to influence statesmen through public declarations,
articles, and interviews. And before I saw the President, I spoke
with people with whom he was in contact aned who had a certain
influence on him." (This, in his own words, was the corrupt nature
of Masaryk.

The New Europe

In his work, Masaryk expressed the need to explain why he had
begun his revolutionary activity. At the heart of The New Europe
lies Masaryk's demand to create an independent Czechoslovak
state. This, however, was not an isolated goal. Masaryk also
"demanded" an independent Poland and Yugoslavia and an entire
zone of independent nations between Germany and Russia. The
political reconstruction of Eastern Europe was considered by him
"the principal problem in the aftermath of the war". He invokes the
principle of national self-determination, but he also sees that in
many territories with mixed population, the border lines between
the states could not be based on ethnographic factors (a total
contradiction to self determination). The new states in which the
"small oppressed Slavic" nations will exercise their political
freedom will be created within historical and natural borders.
Inevitably, these states will include national minorities which will
be guaranteed their civil rights by an international agreement, and
possibly by an international arbitration tribunal for national
questions. (This he never permitted and certainly did not plan).

Twenty years later, World War II broke out, as a direct
consequence of the stupidity and injustice at Versailles and Saint
Germaine. Czechoslovakia broke apart twice, first in 1938/39 and
then in 1992. Three and a half Million Sudeten Germans were made
homeless in 1945/46, over 240 thousand killed and the rest
expelled in addition to a few hundred thousand from Slovakia.
Between 1948 and 1989, Czechs and Slovaks had to endure
self-inflicted tyranny by Communists. Now, extremely poor
nations are not willing to accept U.S. House Resolution No. 562 of
October 13, 1998 to permit the return or compensation of those
expelled. Yet, they eagerly wanted to join NATO and now the
European Union, the very constellation, which existed in a small
way, in the Habsburg Empire, which Masaryk, with the help of the
Western Allies, in 1919 destroyed.

In this essay, we cannot expand deeper reviewing the situation in
Poland and Yugoslavia. Especially the latter has become a land of
hostilities with no real peace and harmony in sight. When will the
Government of the United States stop reconstructing the world by
supporting revolutionaries and terrorists? In view of September
11, 2001, this would be the only way to protect our people from
such "Freedom Fighters", or better terrorists.

Had World War I dended differently, the Bolshevik Revolution
would have not likely succeeded, and World War II would have
been prevented. The tyranny, which Stalin forced on Eastern
Europe after World War II, for over forty years, would have not
taken place. Not to mention the Cold War, the ten trillion dollars,
which the American taxpayers had to pay and the twenty-six
additional wars, which Americans had to fight, just to mention
Korea and Vietnam and the problems in the Middle East and Africa.
If we had stayed neutral, as our Founding Fathers intended, and
certainly did not envision this kind of foreign policy, we would not
have become the target of international terrorism. Will we learn
from history, or will we continue the course of "reconstructing and
policing" the world? Can we win the war against terrorism if we
continue to support terrorists, as was Masaryk?

Bibliography:
1. Dr. Ferdinand D. Katzer: "Was ueber T.G. Masaryk und
Boehmen oft im Dunkeln bleibt", Sudetendeutsche Zeitung,
November 24, 2000.

2. Prof. Dr. Josef Kalvoda: "The Genesis of Czechoslovakia", New
York 1986.

3. George J. Kovtun: "Masaryk & America", Library of Congress,
Washington 1988.

4. Charles Richard Crane, the National Encyclopedia of American
Biography, page 221-222.

5. Woodrow Wilson, the National Encyclopedia of American
Biography, page 169-170.

6. Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the National Encyclopedia of American
Biography.

7. "Bohemia", Deutsche Zeitung, "Die erste Botschaft Masaryks"
(Masaryk's first message). 23. December 1919.

8. Emanuel Victor Voska and Will Irwin: "Spy and Counterspy",
Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc. New York, 1940.

9. David F. Houston: "Eight years with Wilson's Cabinet 1913 to
1920", Doubleday, Page & Company, New York 1923.

10. Sophie A. Welisch: "Die Sudetendeutsche Frage 1918-1928,
Verlag Robert Lerche, Muenchen, 1980, ISBN 3-87478-124-0.

11. Sudetendeutsche Atlas, Sudetendeutsche Landsmanschaft,
Muenchen.

Prepared for presentation at the Twenty-Sixth Annual Symposium
of the Society for
German-American Studies, Amana Colonies, Iowa, April 18-21, 2002.

Recognition:

The author appreciates and recognizes the important library
research of Titanila Strbova, including translations from Czech
language into English and transcription of the manuscript and the
translation from German into English by Hans-Jochen Holz.