The presentation will focus on two key figures associated with the independence of Czechoslovakia and its interwar period. Tomáš G. Masaryk, who had a position of a prominent philosopher, humanist and statesman and was the first President of the Czechoslovak Republic, and his successor Edvard Beneš, who as Minister of Foreign Affairs for many years had a reputation as an excellent diplomat, and succeeded after Masaryk as President. What place did the Far East had in their knowledge, interests and political considerations? Did this interest correspond to their position and reputation? Was it reflected, and if so, how, in the practical performance of diplomatic relations, trade and scientific research? The aim of the presentation is to contribute to the critical re-evaluation of Masaryk and Beneš, which throughout the interwar period was burdened by many stereotypes, and the same attitude was manifested during World War II in exile and in exile circles after in Czechoslovakia the communists took power in 1948.
