The nations of the Little Entente — Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Rumania — were scheduled to meet at King Carol’s summer residence at Sinaia today in their first conference since Chancellor Hitler took over Austria. With two of the three little entente nations becoming Germany’s immediate neighbors as a result of the disappearance of Austria from the map of Europe, the meeting takes on exceptional importance. The Sinaia session is the 35th meeting of the Little Entente Council.
Although the meeting presumably will support Czechoslovakia’s position in its resistance to German pressure, those responsible for it are reported anxious to avoid any appearance by mixing into questions currently being debated at Praha.
The Little Entente originally was created to give the three Slavic succession states mutual protection against any attempt to revive the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austrian Anschluss has altered the situation only by raising the possibility that Germany may consider itself the heir of the Hapsburg ambitions.
The danger is one which threatens not only the three Little Entente powers, but their former adversary, Hungary. It is represented by Konrad Henlein, pro-Nazi Sudeten German leader, in Czechoslovakia, by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, pro-Nazi Iron Guard leader now imprisoned, in Rumania, and by Major Ferenc Szalasy, leader of the Hungarian Nazis, in Hungary.
The Central European situation has changed so much that informed observers now envisage the possibility of closer relations between the Little Entente and Hungary in order to protect the Danube Valley’s independence. This possibility, and the question of the various national minorities of the little entente nations, and Hungary, will be considered at the Council meeting.
The Council will also examine various foreign policy questions to draw up a common line of action with regard to such matters as recognition of Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia the international effect of Anschluss, the Anglo-Italian agreement and the Franco-Italian conversations.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
