Espionage of the Czechoslovak Embassy in Washington, D.C., in the Early 1920s: Cooperation between Business and Diplomat-Economic Spy
Abstract
The aim of the presentation was to outline the official, state-controlled channels of economic espionage in Czechoslovak foreign service through the technological agenda of the Czechoslovak embassy in the USA. Within the Washington, D.C. embassy, the institution of the so-called technical attaché was created to experiment with the search for technological opportunities in the USA.
The general aim was to encourage domestic companies to gain inspiration from American business. The presentation focused on Stanislav Špaček (1876-1954), a technical attaché based in Washington.
The argumentation analysed the strategies and methods he used to gather information. It answered the question of how and with what success he disseminated knowledge to the Czechoslovak business environment.
Finally, the presentation outlined personal motivations and career trajectory of this "economic spy", as well as reasons for abolition of his post in the Washington embassy in the mid-1920s.