CREEDE HINSHAW: West has a history of abandoning smaller European nations

When I heard former President Trump boast that he could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, I immediately thought about the embattled church in the Czech Republic. Having visited that nation a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded how the small, relatively powerless nations of Central Europe have been sold down the river repeatedly by the major powers of the world.

One day in Prague, I visited the Emmaus Monastery, a place of worship and contemplation since 1347. One 10-year period in the history of that monastery will explain the disaster that took place after the western world powers foolishly trusted first Hitler and then Stalin.

In 1941, the monastery was taken over by the invading Nazis. The Nazis were easily able to conquer what was then known as Czechoslovakia because British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had assured Hitler that Britain would not stand in Germany’s way of annexing part of Austria. Chamberlain, who had promised “peace in our time,” would eventually rue those words. Hitler was amazed at how easy it was to manipulate Chamberlain and conquer Central Europe.

In 1941, the Gestapo seized the monastery, sending the monks to Dachau, where most of them, including their abbot, were murdered. The Nazis maintained control of the monastery until the end of the war.

Then on Feb. 14, 1945, the Americans, mistaking Prague for Dresden, Germany, bombed the city. The Emmaus Monastery sustained a direct hit, collapsing the dome of the church, destroying centuries-old art, and incinerating the structure. Soon after liberation the monks began restoration, and eventually a graceful, distinctive steeple was added to the rebuilt monastery.

But the peace was not to last.

Less than four years later the Communists had taken over Czechoslovakia. Their brutal takeover was possible because, once again, the great powers of the west shrugged their shoulders. Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to the Soviet demand to rule Central Europe. Weary from years of war, the allies gave in to Stalin. By 1950 the monastery had been shuttered again, the monks tortured and killed, this time by the Communists.

This one 10-year period (1941-1950), thanks to Western naivete, led to horrible suffering for Central Europe. The tragedy of these years, which lasted into the late 1980s, happened because these tiny nations, unable to fend for themselves, were abandoned or ignored by the west so that Germany and Russia could have its way with them.

Former President Trump’s vain boast to let Russia keep much of Ukraine in exchange for “peace” is a naïve and chilling replay of the weakness that led to disaster for Czech Christians and Jews. Putin will not be satisfied with keeping a few square miles of Ukraine. He is the modern incarnation of Hitler and Stalin. He is playing the long game. His intent is to defeat Ukraine, folding it into his greater, glorious Russia. When that happens, persons of faith will find – like those monks of the Emmaus Monastery – that they have been again abandoned by the West.