From 29 to 30 September 1938, an emergency meeting of the greatest European powers took place in Munich – without Czechoslovakia or the Soviet Union, an ally of France and Czechoslovakia. They quickly agreed on Hitler`s terms. It was signed by the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Italy. Militarily, the Sudetenland was of strategic importance to Czechoslovakia, as most of its border defense was located there to protect itself from a German attack. The agreement between the four powers was signed in the context of an undeclared german-Czechoslovak war of low intensity, which had begun on September 17, 1938. Meanwhile, after September 23, 1938, Poland moved its army units to its common border with Czechoslovakia. [2] Czechoslovakia yielded to diplomatic pressure from France and Britain and agreed on September 30 to cede territories to Germany on Munich terms. Fearing the possible loss of Zaolzie to Germany, Poland issued Zaolzie with an ultimatum with a majority of ethnic Poles that Germany had accepted in advance and that Czechoslovakia had accepted on 1 October. [3] By December 1938, the Sudetenland was the most Nazi-friendly region in the Reich, as half a million Sudeten Germans had joined the NSDAP. Daladier was convinced that the deal would not appease the Nazis and that disaster was yet to come, while Chamberlain thought there was reason to celebrate, mistakenly convinced that he had achieved peace.
The day after the contract was signed, Germany took over the Sudetenland. The Czechoslovaks did not retaliate. On the 15th. In March 1939, Hitler occupied Bohemia and Moravia, and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Slovakia had become an autonomous Nazi puppet state the day before. Many Sudeten Germans acquired jobs in the protectorate or as Gestapo agents because they were fluent in Czech. Northern Ruthenia, hoping for independence, was taken over by Hungary. The agreement that allowed the annexation of the Sudetenland by Germany was signed on September 29, 1938. Later in the session, a pre-arranged deception was made to influence Chamberlain and put pressure on him: one of Hitler`s advisers entered the room to inform Hitler that other Germans had been killed in Czechoslovakia, to which Hitler shouted in response: “I will avenge each of them. The Czechs must be annihilated.
[32] The meeting ended with Hitler`s refusal to make concessions to the Allies` demands. [32] Later that evening, Hitler worried that he had gone too far to put pressure on Chamberlain and called the suite of Chamberlain`s hotel and said he would agree to annex only the Sudetenland, with no plans in other areas, provided that Czechoslovakia began the evacuation of ethnic Czechs from German-majority territories by September 26 at 8:00.m. After pressure from Chamberlain, Hitler agreed to set the ultimatum for October 1 (the same date on which Operation Green was to begin). [37] Hitler then told Chamberlain that this was a concession he was willing to make to the prime minister as a “gift,” out of respect for the fact that Chamberlain had been willing to deviate somewhat from his previous position. [37] Hitler went on to say that after the annexation of the Sudetenland, Germany would no longer have territorial claims over Czechoslovakia and would conclude a collective agreement to guarantee the borders of Germany and Czechoslovakia. [37] During World War II, British Prime Minister Churchill, who rejected the agreement when it was signed, decided that the terms of the agreement would not be respected after the war and that Sudetenland should be returned to post-war Czechoslovakia. The 5. In August 1942, Foreign Minister Anthony Eden sent the following note to Jan Masaryk: Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, taking into account the agreement in principle already reached on the cession of the German territory of the Sudetenland to Germany, have agreed on the following conditions for the said cession and the resulting measures: and by this agreement they all hold themselves responsible for what is needed, The American historian William L. Shirer, in his book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960), argued that although Hitler did not bluff about his intention to invade, Czechoslovakia could have provided considerable resistance. Shirer believed that Britain and France had enough air defenses to avoid serious bombing of London and Paris and could have waged a quick and successful war against Germany. [66] He quotes Churchill as saying that the deal means that “Britain and France were in a much worse position than Hitler`s Germany.” [61] After Hitler personally inspected the Czech fortifications, he privately told Joseph Goebbels that “we had shed a lot of blood” and that he was glad there was no fighting. [67] Czechoslovakia was informed by Britain and France that it could either resist Nazi Germany alone or submit to the prescribed annexations.
The Czechoslovak government, recognizing the desperation of the struggle against the Nazis alone, reluctantly capitulated (30. September) and agreed to abide by the agreement. The colony gave Germany the Sudetenland from October 10 and de facto control of the rest of Czechoslovakia, as long as Hitler promised not to go any further. On September 30, after a little rest, Chamberlain went to Hitler`s house and asked him to sign a peace treaty between the United Kingdom and Germany. After Hitler`s interpreter translated it for him, he happily accepted. After learning that the areas inhabited by Poles were to be handed over to Germany, Poland issued a note to the Czechoslovak government calling for “the immediate conclusion of an agreement under which Polish territory should be undeniably occupied by Polish troops; This should be followed by an agreement on referendums in districts where a large share of the Polish population is high. [75] The economic consequences of the Munich Agreement will inevitably be very serious for Czechoslovakia. The loss of industries, railway heads, knots, etc. can only lead to serious losses in trade and unemployment. There is also no doubt that Czechoslovakia is becoming the object of quasi-colonial exploitation for Germany.
The Manchester Guardian covered every aspect of the story – from details of the deal, Chamberlain, who appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, to unease among other nations. One editorial considered the piece of paper he had brandished on his return to Britain to be almost worthless. An agreement was reached on September 29, and on September 30, 1938, at about 1:30 a.m.m, .m.[43] Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, and Édouard Daladier signed the Munich Accords. The agreement was officially introduced by Mussolini, although the Italian plan was in fact almost identical to Godesberg`s proposal: the German army was to complete the occupation of the Sudetenland by October 10 and an international commission would decide on the future of the other disputed territories. [mute] An agreement signed at the Munich Conference in September 1938 ceded the German-speaking Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to Germany. The agreement was concluded between Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France. Czechoslovakia was not allowed to participate in the conference. In March 1939, six months after the munich accords were signed, Hitler violated the agreement and destroyed the Czech state. UCLA Film and Television Archive September 29-30, 1938: Germany, Italy, Britain, and France sign the Munich Agreement, under which Czechoslovakia must cede its border regions and defenses (the so-called Sudetenland) to Nazi Germany. German troops occupied these territories between 1 and 10 October 1938. Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, met on 15 and 16 October 1938. ==References=====External links===* Official website he reached a preliminary agreement with Hitler, who agreed not to take military action without further discussion, while Chamberlain promised to convince his cabinet and the Frenchman to accept the results of a referendum in the Sudetenland.
French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier and his Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet met with British diplomats in London and issued a joint statement that all regions with more than 50% Sudeten Germans should be ceded to Germany. .