Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement, signed in September 1938, was a pivotal treaty that allowed Nazi Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia with a significant ethnic German population. This agreement emerged from negotiations involving Adolf Hitler and the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, notably Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who aimed to avert war in Europe following the devastation of World War I. Despite hopes that appeasing Hitler would secure peace, the Munich Agreement ultimately failed, as Germany subsequently occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
The deal was controversial, as it was made without Czechoslovakia's participation and left the country vulnerable to further aggression. Chamberlain famously proclaimed the agreement as "peace for our time," but it quickly became apparent that it only emboldened Hitler's expansionist ambitions. The Munich Agreement is often viewed as a significant miscalculation that contributed to the outbreak of World War II, which began with Germany's invasion of Poland later that year. The aftermath of the agreement also led to widespread criticism of Chamberlain, who resigned in 1940 as public sentiment turned against his policy of appeasement.
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement, or Munich Pact, was a 1938 treaty that granted parts of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany prior to the start of World War II (1939–1945). Nazi leader Adolf Hitler signed the agreement with leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. The territories that Germany took over were located on the fringes of Czechoslovakia, where mostly ethnic Germans lived. The Nazi Party called these regions the "Sudetenland," referring to the presence of the Sudeten Mountains there. Germany occupied the Sudetenland in October of 1938.
Prime minister of the United Kingdom Neville Chamberlain believed the Munich Agreement had secured peace for Europe and appeased Hitler. However, Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia in March of 1939. This action proved that the Munich Agreement was only one of Hitler's ploys to acquire foreign land in the early stages of his European conquest. World War II officially began with Germany's invasion of Poland in September of 1939. British government leaders harshly criticized Chamberlain for signing the Munich Agreement with Hitler and allowing Germany to begin taking over Europe. Chamberlain was forced to resign as prime minister in 1940.
Background
The Munich Agreement was part of Hitler's complex plan to expand Germany's borders across Europe. Hitler came to power in Germany earlier in the 1930s. German society was suffering at the time. The Great Depression, a global economic downturn that began in 1929, greatly damaged Germany's economy. Millions of Germans had lost their jobs, and poverty was everywhere. Simultaneously, Germans had little faith in their government to help the country recover.
Hitler promised Germans that he and his Nazi Party would restore power and dignity to Germany. Hitler attracted many people to his cause with his fiery speeches. The Nazis swept to power in the German government in the 1932 elections. Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January of 1933.
Hitler intended to keep his promise to the German people. Empowering Germany would involve conquering Europe so Germans would have more space to live and grow as a people. Hitler annexed, or overtook and connected, Austria to Germany in early 1938. By this point, the three million ethnic Germans living in Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland began calling for Germany to annex their territory also. Hitler agreed that they should join the German homeland.
To acquire the Sudetenland peacefully, Hitler threatened Europe with a continent-wide war unless Czechoslovakia surrendered its border territories to Germany. Several of Hitler's aides at the time surmised that this was simply an empty threat, as Hitler was not yet ready to go to war with Europe. The Czech government expected the United Kingdom and France to defend Czechoslovakia if Germany invaded the country.
However, neither British nor French leaders wanted to go to war with Germany over Czechoslovakia. They felt this way mostly because the memory of World War I (1914צ1918), which had caused great destruction across Europe twenty years earlier, was still fresh in their minds. British prime minister Neville Chamberlain felt especially strongly about this. He was willing to concede almost any conditions to Hitler to avoid starting another world war. Chamberlain thought Hitler was a reasonable leader who could be appeased with the appropriate offer. Therefore, Chamberlain traveled to Germany several times in September of 1938 to discuss the Sudetenland question with Hitler.
Overview
Chamberlain first met with Hitler in Berchtesgaden, Germany, in mid-September. Chamberlain offered Hitler all the regions of Czechoslovakia in which at least 50 percent of the populations were ethnic Germans. Chamberlain then left and convinced French leaders to agree to this. No representatives from Czechoslovakia were present for these negotiations. Chamberlain returned to Germany the next week, this time meeting Hitler at Bad Godesberg, Germany. However, Hitler now wanted the entire Sudetenland. He also demanded that the people of Czechoslovakia leave their country by the end of September and that any German people living in Czechoslovakia be allowed to rejoin Germany. Chamberlain initially rejected this offer and returned home.
Meanwhile, Czechoslovakia began preparing its military for war. France soon did the same. War seemed likely to begin in Europe at any moment. Chamberlain frantically searched for a solution, as he knew neither the United Kingdom nor France was currently ready to go to war with Germany. Chamberlain convinced French prime minister Édouard Daladier to accompany him to Munich, Germany, to give in to Hitler's demands and avoid conflict. Chamberlain was happy to be finalizing the agreement. Daladier, conversely, detested the idea of surrendering to Hitler's conditions, but he believed doing so would avert a world war.
Chamberlain and Daladier met with Hitler in Munich on September 30, 1938. Once again, Hitler did not allow any Czech representatives to attend the meeting, despite Czechoslovakia's repeated attempts to appease Hitler by, for example, breaking up its Communist Party. Hitler hated the political ideology of communism.
That day, Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, and Benito Mussolini of Italy, Germany's ally, signed the Munich Agreement. It ceded control of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Germany. Hitler also commandeered most of Czechoslovakia's coal, iron, steel, and electrical industries. The loss of these raw materials left Czechoslovakia defenseless against German invasion. Chamberlain rejoiced at the signing of the pact. He remained in Munich a bit longer to co-sign a one-page statement from Hitler declaring that Hitler did not intend to go to war with Europe.
Chamberlain returned to the United Kingdom proclaiming the Munich Agreement as "peace for our time." On October 1, 1938, the day after the signing of the agreement, the German army occupied the Sudetenland. In March of 1939, Hitler threatened Czechoslovakia with bombing if the government did not allow the German army to invade the rest of the country. Germany took control of Czechoslovakia on March 15, 1939. Hitler established Nazi governments in Czechoslovakia's individual regions of Slovakia, Moravia, Bohemia, and others. Czechoslovakia no longer existed as a sovereign nation.
Germany started World War II when it invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The United Kingdom and France had warned Hitler that they would defend Poland from German aggression. Chamberlain, who less than a year earlier had celebrated the Munich Agreement as a guarantee of peace with Germany, was now forced to declare war on Germany.
Hitler took control of Norway and Denmark in the spring of 1940. By this time, most British leaders blamed Chamberlain for signing the Munich Agreement and allowing Hitler to begin conquering Europe. Chamberlain resigned as prime minister in May of 1940. Indeed, the Munich Agreement had simply been a deceit by Hitler to start occupying foreign land while forestalling all-out war until Germany was fully ready to fight.
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