Page:Edvard Beneš – Bohemia's case for independence.pdf/107

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INDEPENDENT BOHEMIA
93

mony. The Czecho-Slovaks could render Europe an immense service by facilitating the trade war on Germany, for they would complete the encirclement of Germany from the east, Bohemia being situated on the line Berlin-Vienna-Budapest-Constantinople. Bohemia could even in many respects take Germany's place in the markets of the Allied nations. The creation of this barrier is necessary, for Germany has completely subdued Austria-Hungary from the economic point of view. Austrian export and import trade depends entirely on Germany, the Dual Monarchy receiving from Germany, for instance in 1910, 1154 million kronen worth of products, and supplying her with 1062 millions worth of raw materials. Germany has enslaved the other Central European territories, and would occupy all the markets in the Balkans. It is a recognised fact that since 1908 the Balkan States have successively abandoned trade with other States, and all this trade has then been captured by Germany. Germany triumphed everywhere, penetrating into Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumania, to say nothing of Turkey.

The situation will be rather different after the war. First of all, Germany will be blocked in the East, and all the nations on her Eastern frontier will be interested in not allowing her to