Independence or Autonomy: The US Peace Initiatives and the Allied Stance on the Czech and Slovak National Problem (December 1916 - March 1917). Reflections and Interpretations
Abstract
The paper explores the reflections and interpretations of the Allies' attitude to the Czech and Slovak national problem in the end of 1916 and in the early 1917. In my presentation I will first evaluate how the German and US peace initiatives in December 1916 and the following Allied diplomatic discussions were assessed by the Czechoslovak resistance movement abroad.
Then, I will explore the interpretations of the Allied peace note on 10th of Januray 1917 and of the American president's "Peace Without Victory" speech (22th of January 1917) by the official circles and the public opinion in the belligerent Great Powers as well as by Czech and Slovaks abroad and in Austria-Hungary. The paper relies on archival sources, published documents, periodical press and a secondary literature, related to the topic.