After Nazi Germany had annexed (added) Austria, Adolf Hitler set his sights on taking over Czechoslovakia. He demanded that Czechoslovakia gave up the area called the Sudetenland, a region populated by those who were ethnically-German. While Hitler hoped to take over Czechoslovakia peacefully like he did in Austria, Hitler was willing to go to war over the Sudetenland.
In September 1938, Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, met Adolf Hitler at his home in Berchtesgaden. Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia unless Britain supported Germany's plans to takeover the Sudetenland. After discussing the issue with the Edouard Daladier (France) and Eduard Beneš (Czechoslovakia), Chamberlain informed Hitler that his proposals were unacceptable.
Adolf Hitler was in a difficult situation but he also knew that Britain and France were unwilling to go to war. He also thought it unlikely that these two countries would be keen to join up with the Soviet Union, whose totalitarian system the western democracies hated more that Hitler's fascist dictatorship.
Benito Mussolini suggested to Hitler that one way of solving this issue was to hold a four-power conference of Germany, Britain, France and Italy. This would exclude both Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, and therefore increasing the possibility of reaching an agreement and undermine the solidarity that was developing against Germany.
The meeting took place in Munich on 29th September, 1938. Desperate to avoid war, and anxious to avoid an alliance with Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union, Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier agreed that Germany could have the Sudetenland. In return, Hitler promised not to make any further territorial demands in Europe.
(From left to right) Mussolini, Hitler, Daladier, and Chamberlain
On 29th September, 1938, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier and Benito Mussolini signed the Munich Agreement which transferred the Sudetenland to Germany.
When Eduard Beneš, Czechoslovakia's head of state, protested at this decision, Neville Chamberlain told him that Britain would be unwilling to go to war over the issue of the Sudetenland. In fact, Chamberlain would declare the Munich Agreement as the “peace in our time.” The Munich Agreement was popular with most people in Britain because it appeared to have prevented a war with Germany. However, some politicians, including Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden, attacked the agreement. These critics pointed out that no only had the British government behaved dishonorably, but it had lost the support of Czech Army, one of the best in Europe.
In March, 1939, the German Army seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. In taking this action Adolf Hitler had broken the Munich Agreement. The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, now realized that Hitler could not be trusted and his appeasement policy now came to an end.
Agreement concluded at Munich, September 29, 1938, between Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy
GERMANY, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, taking into consideration the agreement…for the cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory, have agreed on the following terms…
(1) The evacuation will begin on 1st October.
(2) The United Kingdom, France and Italy agree that the evacuation of the territory shall be completed by the 10th October, without any existing installations having been destroyed, and that the Czechoslovak Government will be held responsible for carrying out the evacuation without damage to the said installations.
(3) The conditions governing the evacuation will be laid down in detail by an international commission composed of representatives of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Czechoslovakia.
(4) The occupation by stages of the predominantly German territory by German troops will begin on 1st October….
(5) The international commission referred to in paragraph 3 will determine the territories in which a plebiscite [direct vote from Czech citizens] is to be held. These territories will be occupied by international bodies until the plebiscite has been completed…
(6) The final determination of the frontiers will be carried out by the international commission…
(8) The Czechoslovak Government will…release from their military and police forces any Sudeten Germans who may wish to be released, and the Czechoslovak Government will within the same period release Sudeten German prisoners who are serving terms of imprisonment for political offences.
ADOLF HITLER, NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN, EDOUARD DALADIER, BENITO MUSSOLINI.
PART I: ANALYZING THE MUNICH AGREEMENT
Instructions: Answer in complete sentences by restating the question.
Consider the political climate: what were the effects of the Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression on the countries of Europe?
Why did Hitler want to take over parts of Czechoslovakia?
Why were France and Britain desperate to avoid war? Explain.
Why did France and Britain want to avoid an alliance with Stalin’s Soviet Union?
Which two countries did the Munich Conference exclude? Do you believe this was fair? Why or why not?
According to the Munich Agreement of 1938 (see text box), list at least four things/events that were forced upon the people of the Sudetenland or the Czech government.
What did Chamberlain call the Munich Agreement? Why is this, in the end, ironic?
What happened to Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement of 1938?