První československá pozemková reforma jako faktor zahraniční politiky
The first Czechoslovak land reform as a foreign policy factor

A contribution to a less known aspect of Czechoslovak-Austrian relations between 1918 and 1938

Summary/Abstract: The authors analyze the course of the Czechoslovak land reform carried out in the interwar period and affecting farmsteads owned by citizens of the Austrian Republic. Based mainly on documents from Czech and Austrian archives, the study proves that the land reform had, for many reasons, a potential to have an adverse impact on relations between Czechoslovakia and Austria. First and foremost, Austrians, in particular noble families, owned vast land holdings in Czechoslovakia, the total area of which was approximately 200,000 hectares, and the Austrian government was not in a position to ignore potential losses. The owners were facing a substantial reduction of their land holdings and hefty financial losses. The compensation which the Czechoslovak state paid for the expropriated land was below the market price and, at the same time, large farmsteads were suffering from high property duties. Attempts of the Austrian owners to force the government in Vienna to decisively defend their interests were ultimately unsuccessful. As a matter of fact, problems associated with the land reform, their unquestionable gravity notwithstanding, were of minor importance for it. The interest of the governments in Vienna and Prague was focusing mainly on huge economic, trade and financial problems of Austria which had to rely on the assistance of the victorious powers. The Austrian diplomacy was therefore evading any land reform-related conflict with Prague and was attempting to influence its course by peaceful means. However, the authors have presented concrete examples showing that the accommodating attitude of Vienna did not result in any tangible benefits for the landowners; compared to landowners in other countries, including Germany, they received less in financial compensations and tax reliefs in the interwar Czechoslovakia.

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