Sudetenland and the rest of Czechoslovakia 1938 and 1939

Question 1

What was the Czech army like compared to the Austrian army?

Answer 1

a substantial well-disciplined and well-equiped fighting force

Question 2

What was the Czech army united in?

Answer 2

united in its determination to resist german invasion

Question 3

What were German General’s reaction to the news of Hitler’s intention to invade Czechoslovakia?

Answer 3

panic-stricken

Question 4

Why were german generals panic-stricken by Hitler;s intention to invade Czechoslovakia?

Answer 4

military preparation inadequate
rearmament short of target
the likelihood of foreign intervention and a general war were far greater than before

Question 5

Why was the likelihood of foreign intervention far greater this time?

Answer 5

Czechoslovakia was formally allied to france
and the invasion could not be presented as anything other than an act of aggression against a sovereign state upon which germany had no claim (unlike austria) to suzerainty in the eyes of the world

Question 6

Why did german generals have few objections in principle?

Answer 6

Czechoslovakia obtruded geographically into the newly created greater Germany
hatred and contempt for slavs
broader belief in the eventual creation of a german empire in east-central europe

Question 7

How would he invasion of Czechoslovakia help alleviate the Third Reich’s increasingly dire supply situation?

Answer 7

the acquisition of the czech arms industry
skilled labour
plentiful raw materials

Question 8

Why were Goring and the generals unconvinced that the moment was right for a move against the czechs?

Answer 8

it seemed to be a reckless foolhardy act running a real risk of a general war for which Germany in their view was quite unprepared

Question 9

What did goring and the generals think would ave been a better plan of action?

Answer 9

be more prudent to wait, pile on the pressure and secure piecemeal concessions

Question 10

5 May 1938?

Answer 10

General ludwig beck informed hitler that germany was in no position to win a war should britain intervene to protect the czechs

Question 11

16 july 1938?

Answer 11

ludwig beck issued a memorandum warning of the dire consequences should the invasion go ahead

Question 12

Why didn’t Ludwig Becks idea of getting the generals to resign en masse against hitler’s plans happen?

Answer 12

generals were still demoralised by the blomberg-fritsch scandal
locked in a tradition of belief that duty of soldiers was to obey orders and not to involve themselves in politics
they did not disagree with hitler’s aims of attacking czechoslovakia only its timing

Question 13

what emerged as consequence of the notion of the superiority of the opponent?

Answer 13

a defeatism that escalated into the strongest criticism of the adventurous policy of the reich

Question 14

What did the people fear would happen to the economy if the they destroyed sudetenland?

Answer 14

the incorporation of the sudetenland int Germany would impose severe economic burden on the reich

Question 15

What did the people do for fear of the economic burden of the incorporation of sudetenland into germany?

Answer 15

people were withdrawing their savings from banks in panic

Question 16

Did the people ideologically support hitler’s plans for Czechoslovakia?

Answer 16

most people believed the demands of the sudeten germans justified but they wanted them to be justified without war

Question 17

what was the sentiments of some -ex-social democrats?

Answer 17

hoped for war as the only way to get rid of the nazis

Question 18

what were the sentiments of some workers?

Answer 18

a fatalism emerged

Question 19

what were the sentiments of some young people?

Answer 19

swept away by the vision of a great germany bestriding a vanquished europe

Question 20

what were the sentiments of some old people?

Answer 20

confusion and felt they lacked detailed information

Question 21

a phrase to describe the popular mood towards war?

Answer 21

war psychosis

Question 22

What evidence is there in the late summer and eary autumn of 1938 of opposition to Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia?

Answer 22

increased number of people brought to special courts for criticism of hitler himself

Question 23

What was the popular response to the Munich Agreement?

Answer 23

wave of relief

everyone was relieved hitler had gained new territory without bloodshed

Question 24

What did a social democratic agent report about the Munich agreement?

Answer 24

almost everyone saw it as a 100% success of hitler

Question 25

What evidence is there of the positive public reaction to the Munich agreement?

Answer 25

Chamberlain cheered as he passed through the streets of munich after signing the agreement

Question 26

What did the munich agreement do Hitler’s popularity in germany?

Answer 26

agreement greatly strengthened hitler’s power and prestige

Question 27

who had the decisive influence over hitler in the munich agreement?

Answer 27

goring

Question 28

why did goring press for the munich agreement?

Answer 28

he was appalled that a general war was being risked over an issue where the key concessions to germany had been made already

Question 29

What did goring do to fashion the munich agreement?

Answer 29

behind hitler’s back he brokered a conference with the british, the french and crucially the italians
and persuaded hitler to agree

Question 30

When was the Munich agreement?

Answer 30

the conference met in Munich on 29 september 1938

Question 31

how did hitler feel about the munich agreement?

Answer 31

he had been cheated of the war for which he had been planning

Question 32

How did hitler feel towards goring after the Munich agreement?

Answer 32

resentful for his intervention

Question 33

How did political/personal relations change after the munich agreement?

Answer 33

relations between goring and hitler cooled
which left ribbbentrop and himmler in better positions
the army general and co-conspirators had to abandon their plans for a coup in the light of this peaceful outcome but they were left weakened in their standing with hitler

Question 34

27 september 1938?

Answer 34

hitler organised military parade through berlin most people duked into subways to avod it and those who remain watched in silence - no enthusiasm = hitler furious

Question 35

Was there general consensus for the incorporation of memel into the reich?

Answer 35

approval of the incorporation of memel into the reich was almost universal

Question 36

following the invasion of ssssudetenland, when was the invasion of the rest of czechoslovakia?

Answer 36

the crisis of March 1939 was a brief one

Question 37

what was the public sentiment towards invasion of czechoslovakia?

Answer 37

not the build up of war pyschosis as last time

anxiety about the consequences of the invasion

Question 38

Why was there anxiety about the consequences of the invasion of czechoslovakia?

Answer 38

could not be justified as the rescue of a german minority from oppression despite the fact that goebbels propaganda claimed that the czech’s had been abusing the german minority

Question 39

At one point did people begin to applaud hitler’s latest success?

Answer 39

announcement that the occupation had been achieved without loss of life

Question 40

how were many people reported as feeling?

Answer 40

indifferent

Question 41

Why were many people indifferent?

Answer 41

nationalist sensibilities had been dulled by the ervious successes in austria and sudetenland

Question 42

Why according to cynical worker was this hitler’s least popular victory?

Answer 42

we were always winning once before and it came to a bad end- ww1