Appeasement And The Road To War #15: The Events Of March 1939

Question 1

When was Teschen given to Poland?

Answer 1

October 1938

Question 2

When was South Slovakia given to Hungary?

Answer 2

October 1939

Question 3

Who was Tiso?

Answer 3

Pro-German Slovak leader

Question 4

What proposal from Hitler did Tiso after being summoned to Berlin relay on 14th March 1939?

Answer 4

If Slovakia declared independence, it would be protected by Hitler

Question 5

What did Tiso say would happen if parliament opposed his proposal?

Answer 5

Hitler’s troops would simply March in and take Slovakia

Question 6

What was the result of Tiso’s proposal at parliament?

Answer 6

Parliament agreed and so Slovakia became independent

Question 7

Since when had Hacha been president?

Answer 7

Benes’ resignation on October 5th 1938

Question 8

What did Hacha do on the night of 14th March?

Answer 8

He visited Hitler to dissuade him from making Slovakia a German protectorate, he was concerned about Czechoslovakia falling apart

Question 9

What did Hitler tell Hacha at 1AM?

Answer 9

That troops would be invading in a matter of hours, but Hacha could make it less violent by signing the rest of Czechoslovakia over (Bohemia and Moravia)

Question 10

Why did Hacha break down and what happened as a result of this?

Answer 10

• Hitler’s threat and a threat to bomb Prague from Goerig
• He suffered a heart attack and was kept alive by injections until his signing at 4AM

Question 11

What did the German army do on 15th March?

Answer 11

They rolled in Prague in a ten vehicle convoy

Question 12

Why was Hitler’s invasion of Czech (Bohemia and Moravia) significant?

Answer 12

Because it was his first invasion of a non-German state

Question 13

When and by who was Ruthenia taken?

Answer 13

Hungary, March 1939

Question 14

How did Hitler attempt to justify his takeover of Czechoslovakia?

Answer 14

By claiming that the Czechs were subject to a terrorist regime and needed Germans to protect them

Question 15

How did Hacha attempt to defend his choice of giving up Czech sovereignty without a fight?

Answer 15

He was terrified of Goering’s threat and said he “realised that it was the devil himself talking to me”

Question 16

How did Chamberlain respond to Hitler’s aggression on March 14th?

Answer 16

• He claimed that the British were not bound to protect Czechoslovakia since the country in effect no longer existed after Slovakia had voted for independence
• It’s notable that Hitler’s actions were the next day, the 15th

Question 17

What was the reaction to Chamberlain’s statement on March 14th from the House of Commons?

Answer 17

• He was lambasted over his lack of moral outrage concerning Hitler’s gangster diplomacy
• Angry members vowed that Britain would never appease Hitler again

Question 18

When did Chamberlain change his mind?

Answer 18

On a train from London to Birmingham on Friday March 17

Question 19

What did Chamberlain decide on the train on March 17?

Answer 19

• Despite a prepared speech discussing routine domestic matters that he was to deliver in Birmingham, he scrapped it and outlined a brand new one concerning Hitler

Question 20

What was Chamberlain’s memorable quote on March 17?

Answer 20

“Is this, in effect, a step in the direction of an attempt to dominate the world by force?”

Question 21

What was so significant about Chamberlain defying Hitler?

Answer 21

It was the first time in the history of the Third Reich that Great Britain had finally declared it would stand up to the German dictator and was willing to fight

Question 22

What did British Diplomats and the French do on March 18?

Answer 22

• British Diplomats informed the Nazis that Hitler’s occupation of Czechoslovakia was “a complete repudiation of the Munich Agreement… devoid of any basis of legality.”
• French also strongly protested saying that they “would not recognise the legality of the German Occupation”

Question 23

What was Hitler’s reaction to the French and British opposition on March 18?

Answer 23

Hitler and the Nazis did not care. Hitler had seen these “enemies” at Munich and considered them to be little worms.

Question 24

What action did Britain and France take on March 31st?

Answer 24

• They went beyond diplomatic protests
• Chamberlain issued a solid declaration, with the backing of France, guaranteeing Hitler’s next likely victim, Poland, from Nazi Aggression
• This was the anglo-polish guarantee

Question 25

Why was Britain’s action on 31st March significant?

Answer 25

It was Britain’s first time actually protecting a country on the east

Question 26

What did Lloyd George state in regards to Briatin’s promise to Poland? Why?

Answer 26

• “If we are going in without the help of Russia we are walking into a trap”
• This was the same situation as Czechoslovakia, and Britain had then failed to act

Question 27

What had Hitler been doing since October 1938?

Answer 27

stirring up Polish and Hungarian claims to sections of Czechoslovakia, as well as the desire for Slovak independence