Abstract
ATTEMPTS AT POLISH-CZECHOSLOVAK SETTLEMENT AND THE ACTIVITY OF THE POLISH-CZECH CLUB IN MORAVIAN OSTRAVA OVER THE PERIOD OF 1929-1934.
The Polish-Czechoslovak tensions of 1918-1920 stemmed from the dispute over the Duchy of Cieszyn, the
district of Spisz, and the district of Orawa. The settlement, imposed by the Council of Ambassadors on
July 28, 1920, harmed Poland. The Poles in the Duchy of Cieszyn became a minority in Czechoslovakia
which wanted to assimilate them. The Poles in Zaolzie demanded an unflinching policy towards Prague.
The Polish authorities only supported them within the scope of the Czechoslovak law. That situation
changed in 1934. The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported Polish-Czech clubs, including the one
in Moravian Ostrava, established in 1929, working on the improvement of the Polish-Czech relationships
in Zaolzie. Prague’s anti-Polish policy was not changed by the Polish-Czech clubs – nor by the participation
of Polish parliamentarians in government coalitions over the period of 1925-1934. After signing the
Polish-German Pact of Non-aggression, Poland tried to make Czechoslovakia change its policy towards
the Polish minority. The German minority’s demand for autonomy made it announce – in February of
1937 – its nationalities’ relations improvement declaration. It promised to satisfy the Polish minority’s
requirements in late July 938, though its independence was under threat. Prague and Warsaw failed to
reach any settlement over the annexation of Zaolzie by Poland in 1938.