ABSTRACT
The preparatory work of the English, French, and American officials has been criticized as poorly directed politically, uncoordinated, often too late to be of use, and frequently unheeded. As for the role of the experts at Paris, differing pictures have been drawn. Lloyd George, who praised highly the work of British departmental officials, testified that at the Peace Conference British statesmen constantly turned to them for guidance. In dealing with Czechoslovakia, a Czechoslovak state of 12,000,000 people was envisaged, of whom 8,300,000 would be Czechs and Slovaks, 3,500,000 Germans, and about 150,000 Hungarians. British support for the establishment of a Czechoslovak state was defended on the grounds that the Czechs throughout the war had been Britain’s most devoted and most efficient allies in eastern and central Europe. Apart from the enthusiastic pro-Czech attitude of the author or authors of the memorandum, its salient feature was the effort to reconcile overlapping national interests.
