Role zbrojních exportů v ekonomice Československa ve 30. letech 20. století

This master's thesis examines the role of arms exports in the economy of interwar Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate how the export of military material contributed to overcoming the Great Depression and achieving the overall macroeconomic stabilization of the state during a period of escalating international tension. Through statistical and comparative analysis of contemporary sources, the study investigates the transformation of the Czechoslovak economy from light industry to heavy engineering and arms production, a shift stimulated by the restrictive and executive interventions of the state apparatus. The research demonstrates that the collapse of European free trade and the failure of the clearing system compelled domestic arms manufacturers to expand intonon-European crisis regions in order to acquire hard currency. Consequently, Czechoslovak export promotion policy during the crisis years became entirely subordinated to economic pragmatism. An analysis of arms deals against the backdropof international crises, such as the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, illustrates that thefinancial rescue of strategic enterprises and geopolitical interests took precedence over proclaimed democratic values and the principles of collective security.