Thread by @akoz33

An interesting fragment from Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowiicz’s “The Diary of Mrs Hanka”, describing the international situation in 1938. That is the year the book was written and it was published in 1939, a few months before the beginning of the war. Mrs Hanka, the author of the diary

is a 23 year old aristocratic lady, who sees the world entirely in terms of fashions and love affairs and get inadvertently involved in a spy operation targeting her husband Jacek, a senior Polish diplomat.
“(Mother)...was tremendously excited only only just managed to kiss me

before calling out: Have you hear already?
What about? - calmly asked Jacek.
That the European war has been decided. The Germans are furious with the Czechs because they say, Rotschild, you know the one who was visited by the Duke of Windsor, escaped to Prague, so they told

them that either they hand over Rotschild or they will take away from them Karlsbad. And in Paris they already decided to go to war.
Jacek laughed.
Mother, what nonsense you are saying. This is just gossip made up by people with no understanding of international politics.

Firstly, Rotschild did not escape, secondly, even if one hundred Rotschilds escaped to Prague and Czechoslovakia gave then asulum, there would be no war.
Mother was overjoyed.
Thank God. Are you sure?
Absolutely sure.
Because Mrs Sarnicka said, that she knows from a very

reliable source that Hitler wants to seize Czechoslovakia. They say they will give a part to Italy, a part to us, and the largest part, which includes Karlsbad, take for themselves. That will be my ruin! They don’t have butter in Germany. And I can’t imagine life without fresh

butter. Do you think they would let me bring butter from Poland.
I don’t see why not - said I.
Jacek became somewhat impatient.
Dear Mother, everything she says is baseless. Firstly, the Germans woukd not dare to try to grab a Czechoslovakia. In any case, they wouldn’t want to.

Hitler wants to unite the Germans and under no conditions wants to have within the German Reich any foreign nationalities. But even if he had an appetite for Czechoslovakia, he woukd not get it.
Why? - doubted Mother. Mrs Sarniecka says he could conquer it in a few weeks.
He

could, if other countries allowed it. But Czechoslovakia has military treaties with Russia and France. France is backed by England and the United States. And that’s not all. Czechoslovakia, as a member of the Little Entante, can count on the support of Romania and Yugoslavia. The

absurd gossip told by Mrs Sarnica deserves only to be lounged at.
Are you quite certain?
Mummy - I said angrily - Who can be better informed than Jacek?
...After all, he is a diplomat and they know everything in advance.
Mother, you can sleep peacefully - added Jacek. Karlsbad

and butter will not run away. The best proof of how silly is your informant, is that she said that Italy is supposed to get a part of Czechoslovakia. Italy has no border with that country. And besides, Italy will never agree to a German control of Czechoslovakia.
Why not? Aren’t

Hitler and Mussolini friends?
You see, Mother, in international politics nobody ever wishes any of his friends to become too powerful. Too great a dominance by Getmany would be very dangerous for Italy.

I always admired how Jacek always was able to explain everything logically

and factually. How calmly he could decipher even the most complex puzzles of international politics.

You see Mother- he continued - Germany now, after the Anschluss with Austria, must for economic reasons turn towards the Mediterranean. Already German influence in Yugoslavia

is fairly strong & Italy is quietly trying to contain it. German presence on the Adriatic woukd be a disaster for Italy. There are, indeed, certain possibilities, about which I can’t speak in detail, of changing the composition of Czechoslovakia, but that will be arranged without

war, through negotiations. It concerns a special status for the German population of the Sudetenland. But war? War during the next few years is unimaginable, because nether Germany nor the Western states are ready. In any case, all countries are now governed by the generation

that lived through the Grest War. That generation does not yearn after another one.
Mama became convinced and said that Jacek took a great weight off her chest.
Soon after dinner friends and relatives started coming. Clearly Mrs Sarincka spread her rumours wide because they were

all talking about them. I was very pleased that I could authoritatively deny this rubbish. I even impressed Stanislaw (he came together with Danka). He said
“You are very smart and I can see that you understand these matters. People here unnecessarily exaggerate the power of

Getmany and belittle France. Although currently that country is in a pitiful condition, but this won’t last long. This nation has shown many times that it can shake off a temporary weakness. And now, in case of danger, it will find it easier to free itself from the yoke of the

Jews, socialists and Masons.
Stanislaw is an expert on Masons. He can discuss the with a Father for hours. I have often listened to their conversations.
It would be indeed terrible if the Masons ruled the world. According to Stanislaw, almost all outstanding persons in Poland

and abroad belong to the Masonry. There is only one thing I can’t understand: if they are so powerful and even use such methods as assasination, why haven’t they still got rid of their enemies, not just the minor ones like, for example, Stanislaw, but also Hitler & Mussolini?