The crisis over Czechoslovakia and the Munich Agreement Flashcards
Munich Timeline
11 March 1938, Hitler invaded Austria. It was clear he wanted to do the same in the Sudetenland.
7 September 1938, the German Sudeten Party demanded union with Germany. There were riots. German newsreels showed ‘evidence’ of Czech ‘atrocities’ against the Sudeten Germans. Hitler threatened to support the Sudeten Germans with military force.
15 September 1938: Chamberlain met Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Hitler promised him that this was the ‘last problem to be solved’.Chamberlain decided Hitler was ‘a man who can be relied upon’. Chamberlain persuaded the Czechs to hand over the Sudetenland.
22 September 1938: Chamberlain met Hitler at Bad Godesberg. Hitler made more demands. At first Chamberlain refused, but then he decided that Czechoslovakia was not one of the ‘great issues’ which justified war, but just ‘a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing’
29 September 1938: MUNICH CONFERENCE (Britain, Germany, Italy, France). Munich Agreement was signed. The Sudetenland was given to Germany over a 10 day period, plebsicites to be held, 4 powers would guarantee the remainder of Czechoslovakia (which was not invited to the talks. The Czechs were free to fight if they wished, but they had no support. They chose not to fight.
30 September 1938, Chamberlain returned to England with his famous piece of paper. ‘I believe it is peace for our time’, he told the cheering crowds. (In private Chamberlain had some reservations on whether it would work - prep for war starts after Munich eg. gas masks distributed)
1 October 1938, Hitler marched unopposed into the Sudetenland. He said that it was the start of a 1000-year German Reich (empire).
3 October 1938: Duff Cooper, British First Lord of the Admiralty, resigns over Munich. - only cabinet minister to resign
8 November 1938: Kristallnacht – Nazis attack the German Jews. Hitler begins to persecute Jewish people in Germany.
1 December 1938: Britain sets up a ‘National Register’ of who would do what if there was a war.
3 January 1939: The British navy was made stronger. The RAF increased production of planes to 400 a month.
15 February 1939: UK Parliament increased defence spending to £580 million a year. ¼ million free air raid shelters are given to Londoners.
28 February 1939: The Fascist ruler Franco wins the Spanish Civil War.
15 March 1939: Hitler invades Czechoslovakia; Chamberlain says it is a ‘shock to confidence’. This is the first time Hitler has attacked a non-German people.
What was Chamberlain’s role in the Sudetenland Crisis,1938?
- Czechoslovakia had been created by the Treaty of Versailles. Only 50% of the 15m people in Czechoslovakia were Czechs. There were 3.2m Germans in the Sudetenland.
- The Sudeten Germans were quiet until mid-1930s. Then Henlein (Nazi leader in the Sudetenland) inspired demands for autonomy and then separation. Chamberlain believed that separation was acceptable if not done by force.
- Britain, France and the USSR had all promised to protect Czechoslovakia, so it was very different from Anschluss. BUT even if Britain and France wanted to help Czechoslovakia, geography was against them, as well as Britain’s lack of effective arms to deploy.
- But if France fought for Czechoslovakia, Britain could be drawn in and France defeated, thus leaving Germany in the ascendant.
- Chamberlain’s policy was therefore to make concessions to ensure a longer lasting peace. He knew that there was no major support at home or in the Dominions for war against Germany over the Sudetenland.
The Sudetenland Crisis
May 1938 The weekend crisis: Czechoslovakia mobilized (moved its troops, readied for war) after seeming threats from German troop movements. Hitler decided to seize the Sudetenland.
Summer 1938: Hitler and the German press were fiercely critical of Czechoslovakia. German newspapers ran stories of atrocities against Germans in the Sudetenland by Czechs.
In August 1938, the Runciman Mission to Prague achieved little, designed to investigate the issues and find a solution to the Czech issue. It seemed clear that no compromise was possible between Czechoslovakia and the Sudetenlanders.
12th September 1938: at the Nuremberg Rally, Hitler demanded self –determination for Sudeten Germans. Riots in the Sudetenland were suppressed by Czechoslovakia.
Chamberlain broke with precedent by intervening personally and negotiating directly with Hitler (usually the Prime Minister would involve the Foreign Secretary and the Foreign Office)
15th Sept 1938 Chamberlain flew to Berchtesgarten to meet Hitler:
It was agreed that parts of Czechoslovakia with a German majority should go to Germany,
Hitler agreed not to attack until Chamberlain consulted with the Czechs and French.
Chamberlain persuaded the UK Cabinet and the French to accept. The Czechs, led by Benes, had no choice but to agree in return for the new Czechoslovakia being guaranteed.
22nd Sept 1938 Chamberlain flew to Bad Godesberg to meet Hitler again:
He was expecting to agree the proposals,but Hitler said they were not good enough: Czechoslovakia also had to secede territory to Poland and Hungary and he said that he should have the right to occupy the Sudetenland by force by 1st October.
Chamberlain would have accepted but Cabinet/French and Czechs hostile to giving in to bullying.
War seemed likely, Britain and France began to mobilise, trenches were dug.
Chamberlain sent Horace Wilson his adviser to talk to Hitler. Talks failed. France would honour commitments to Czechoslovakia. 38m gas masks handed out. Trenches were dug in expectation of war in central London.
27th Sept 1938 British approached Mussolini for help. Mussolini proposed a four power conference which was held in Munich in September 1938.
29th September: The Munich Agreement:
What was the Munich Conference and Munich Agreement?
- Munich Conference: attended by France, Germany, Italy and Britain. Benes (Czech leader) and Stalin (USSR) were not invited. USA did not attend.
- The Munich Agreement was agreed on 29th September 1938.
Most of Hitler’s demands were accepted: - Occupation of the Sudetenland by Germany would take place in stages over 10 days rather than one day
- Czechs had to accept the terms or fight alone
- Chamberlain persuaded Hitler to sign a separate declaration that Britain and Germany would never go to war (the famous “piece of paper”).
- Munich Agreement: was v popular in Britain with the general public. - Chamberlain said it was “Peace for our time” in public (although privately expressed concerns/reservations).
Assessment of Munich (The Gathering Storm)
Many historians have seen Munich as a terrible failure BUT
British and French armies were not ready for war and Britain may have not had the support of the Dominions.
Some British MPs (e.g. Churchill) were critical, Labour criticised Chamberlain for not getting better terms.
Only Duff Cooper (Admiralty) resigned from the Government in protest
Some left wing/ liberal newspapers (Daily Worker, Manchester Guardian, Daily Herald) were critical, most supported Chamberlain and Munich
Public relief that war had been averted
Rearmament accelerated after Oct 1938, during 1939 aircraft production overtook that of Germany and by Sept 1939 a RADAR chain was established from the Orkneys to the Isle of Wight to warn Britain of incoming aircraft attacks.
Italy: Chamberlain tried to improve relations with Italy: in November 1938 he proposed the implementation of Anglo-Italian agreement of April 1938.
Czechs: felt betrayed (Benes resigned)
It DID “buy time” for Britain and her eventual allies (i.e. war was averted in 1938).
Who was For the Munich Agreement?
- Britain was not united in 1938. War would not have been entered into with the nation clearly in favour. White Dominions were not in favour of war.
- Hitler was ‘defeated’ by Chamberlain – he had not had his short sharp war! Czechoslovakia had been preserved as an independent state.
- For Chamberlain it was ‘Peace for our Time’ although he regretted this Disraelian quotation.
- Britain was not ready for war and needed time to rearm. It was defenceless against air attack.
- France was not ready and relied too much on the Maginot Line.
- Russia was unwilling to help and Poland would not have allowed them through to invade Germany or into Czechoslovakia.
- There was only one Cabinet resignation – Duff Cooper. Only 30 Conservatives abstained in the vote. - The government won the Oxford by-election soon afterwards.
- Most newspapers, if not all, supported Chamberlain. The Daily Worker, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph had concerns.
Who was Against the Munich Agreement?
- Germany would be stronger in 1939 than 1938. German military leaders did not want war in 1938.
- A united defence of Czechoslovakia by Britain, France, Czechoslovakia and USSR might have seen Germany defeated.
- Britain did not consult with the USA and lost USSR as an ally.
- The Czechs felt betrayed
Hitler gained more territory, prestige and important assets such as the Skoda tank factory in the formerly Czech territory. - It was a less defensible development than Rhineland and Anschluss as the connections were looser and the Czechs were not happy with the arrangement: so a step too far.
- The policy of appeasement was abandoned: Britain entered into the Polish Guarantee which sought to protect Poland from German attack.
- 93% of Britons in an opinion poll said that they did not believe that Hitler would stop with the Sudetenland.
What were the advantages of appeasement?
Many people remembered the horrors of the First World War and wanted to avoid another war at all costs.
Many people believed to Germany had been treated too harshly under the Treaty of Versailles.
Some people saw Communism as the biggest threat to European stability. They thought that Germany could act as a buffer, especially as Hitler was very anti-Communist. Therefore, a strong united Germany would benefit Chamberlain.
Britain was not ready for war. Rearmament only started slowly in 1936, and the British forces were no match for the Germans in 1938.
Britain was preoccupied with the problems caused by the Depression, especially high unemployment, and wanted to stay out of unnecessary foreign involvement.
The events of the Spanish Civil War showed how powerful Germany was. Germany’s forces had intervened on the side of the Spanish leader, Franco, and what they did showed how horrific another war was likely to be.
Many people even admired Hitler. In 1938, the American magazine ‘Time’ declared him ‘Man of the Year’
What were the disadvantages of Appeasement?
It gave Hitler the advantage. He grew stronger and stronger. When war came it was against a strong Germany. It was fought in Poland, a country too far away for Britain to help.
It was not right, Britain and France allowed Hitler to break international agreements, especially the Treaty of Versailles. The Covenant of the League of Nations had been signed by all its members. They were also prepared to give away parts of other countries, especially Czechoslovakia, to keep the peace. Appeasement was simply another word for weakness and cowardice.
Chamberlain misjudged Hitler. He believed Hitler was a normal leader who would listen to reason. He didn’t realise, until it was too late, that appeasement simply encouraged Hitler to believe that he could do anything.
Hitler learned Britain and France were not willing to stand up against him.
The appeasers missed excellent opportunities to stop Hitler, especially over the reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936.
The biggest argument against appeasement is it did not stop war coming in 1939.
