For the Nation, for the Legion, and for the Castle: Legionary Protectionism in the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the Czechoslovak Legion’s attempt to transport raw materials from Siberia to Europe after World War I, this article draws on the concept of legionary protectionism to explore how informal groups impacted the political culture and behind-the-scenes political practice of the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938). Notably, the “Castle,” a cluster of social networks surrounding Czechoslovak President Tomáš G. Masaryk and his successor Edvard Beneš, influenced negotiations regarding the aforementioned “raw materials action.” The legionnaires themselves had a direct interest in the matter through the Legion Bank, a major financial institution. The interplay between the Castle and the Legion Bank sheds light on crucial political and socioeconomic issues of interwar Central and Eastern Europe, including political fundraising, the role of informal groups in political practice, and the consolidation of multinational countries through internal colonization.