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The Collapse of the European Political System, 1914–45

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2011

Hajo Holborn
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Extract

Any attempt at the formulation or critical review of American policies in Europe is conditioned by our historical conceptions. Whether we try to define American policy with regard to Germany, the economic recovery of Europe, or the protection of western Europe against further Russian inroads, we are consciously or unconsciously influenced by what we consider to be the “normal” organization of Europe, and are thereby led to direct our political actions as much as possible toward the restoration of the traditional order. There exists, on the other hand, a general awareness of radical changes in world politics and especially European affairs, and our practical political experiences demonstrate that we are constantly driven to adopt unprecedented measures which run counter to what we still envisage as the historical pattern of Europe.

Type
Research Article
Information
World Politics , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , July 1949 , pp. 442 - 466
Copyright
Copyright © Trustees of Princeton University 1949

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References

1 Tarlé, Eugene, Napoleon's Invasion of Russia, 1812, New York, Oxford University Press, 1942Google Scholar (first Russian edition, Moscow, 1938).

2 The New York Times, April 1, 1949.

3 Cf., Feis, Herbert, Europe the World's Banker, 1870–1914, New Haven, Yale, 1930, p. 51Google Scholar; and Moulton, Harold G. and Pasvolsky, Leo, War Debts and World Prosperity, Washington, The Brookings Institution, 1932, p. 426.Google Scholar

4 Cf., for example, George, David Lloyd, Memoirs of the Peace Conference, 2 vols., New Haven, Yale, 1939, vol. I, pp. 17ff.Google Scholar

5 Sir Headlam-Morley, James, Studies in Diplomatic History, New York, A. H. King, 1930, pp. 182–84.Google Scholar

6 Ibid., p. 176.

7 Keith, Arthur Berriedale, ed., Speeches and Documents on International Affairs, 1918–1937, 2 vols., London, Oxford University Press, 1938, vol. I, p. 124.Google Scholar

8 Note by the German Foreign Minister Stresemann, to the Soviet Ambassador, Krestin-ski, April 24, 1926; Ibid., pp. 128ff.

9 Churchill, Winston S., The Gathering Storm, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1948, p. iv.Google Scholar

10 The best historical treatment so far of the events leading up to Munich and the Polish crisis is to be found in two English books: Wheeler-Bennett, John, Munich: Prologue to Tragedy, New York, Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1948Google Scholar; and Namier, Lewis B., Diplomatic Prelude, 1938–39, London, Macmillan, 1948.Google Scholar

11 Sontag, Raymond James and Beddie, James Stuart, eds., N azi-Soviet Relations, 1939–1941, Washington, Department of State, 1948, p. 74.Google Scholar

12 Byrnes, James F., Speaking Frankly, New York, Harper, 1947, pp. 25, 28.Google Scholar

13 Nazi-Soviet Relations, op. cit., pp. 217–54.

14 Goodrich, Leiand M., ed., Documents on American Foreign Relations, Boston, World Peace Foundation, 1942, vol. IV, p. 203.Google Scholar

15 Cf., Stimson, Henry L. and Bundy, McGeorge, On Active Service in Peace and War, New York, Harper, 1948, pp. 413ff.Google Scholar; Sherwood, Robert E., Roosevelt and Hopkins, an Intimate History, New York, Harper, 1948, pp. 560ff.Google Scholar Cf., also, General Marshall's, report, The Winning of the War in Europe and the Pacifie, Washington, Simon and Shuster, 1945, pp. 8ff.Google Scholar; Eisenhower, Dwight David, Crusade in Europe, Garden City, Doubleday, 1948, pp. 44ff., 66ff., 138f., 167.Google Scholar

16 Sherwood, , op. cit., prints on pp. 748f.Google Scholar a document, presumably representing the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and expressing very succinctly the prevalent opinion of the future roles of Russia and Britain in Europe.

17 Hull, Cordeil, The Memoirs of Cordell Hull, 2 vols., New York, Macmillan, 1948, vol. II, pp. 1451ff.Google Scholar

18 See text in Holborn, Louise W., ed., War and Peace Aims of the United Nations, 2 vols., Boston, World Peace Foundation, 1943–48, vol. II (1943–1945), pp. 767ff.Google Scholar The Department of State released for publication an exchange of correspondence between SHAEF and the Soviet High Command concerning Allied military operations in Czechoslovakia during April and May, 1945, which does not affect the statement in the text. The Department of State confirms that “no prior political agreements or commitments had been made with respect to Czechoslovakia,” and apparently does not believe that this correspondence constituted a step in this direction. The New York Times, May 10, 1949.