On September 13, after internal outbreaks of violence and disruption in Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain asked Hitler for a face-to-face meeting to find a solution to avoid war. [29] Chamberlain arrived in Germany by plane on September 15, then arrived at Hitler`s residence in Berchtesgaden for the meeting. [30] Henlein flew to Germany on the same day. [29] On that day, Hitler and Chamberlain held discussions in which Hitler insisted that Sudeten Germans be allowed to exercise the right to national self-determination and join the Sudetenland with Germany. Hitler also expressed concern to Chamberlain about what he perceived as British „threats.“ [30] Chamberlain replied that he had made no „threat“ and asked Hitler in frustration, „Why did I come here to waste my time?“ [30] Hitler replied that if Chamberlain was willing to accept the self-determination of the Sudeten Germans, he would be willing to discuss the matter. [30] Chamberlain and Hitler discussed for three hours, and the session was adjourned. Chamberlain returned to the UK and met with his cabinet to discuss the issue. [30] September 29-30, 1938: Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France sign the Munich Accords, according to which Czechoslovakia must cede its border areas and defenses (the so-called Sudetenland) to Nazi Germany. German troops occupied these areas between 1 and 10 October 1938. The Czechoslovaks were appalled by the colony of Munich.
They were not invited to the conference and felt betrayed by the British and French governments. Many Czechs and Slovaks refer to the Munich Agreement as the Munich diktat (Czech: Mnichovský diktát; Slovak: Mníchovský diktát). The term „betrayal of Munich“ (Czech: Mnichovská zrada; Slovak: Mníchovská zrada) is also used because Czechoslovakia`s military alliance with France proved useless. This was also reflected in the fact that the French Government, in particular, had considered that Czechoslovakia would be held responsible for a European war that would result if the Czechoslovak Republic defended itself by force against German incursions. [59] In 1938, the Soviet Union was allied with France and Czechoslovakia. In September 1939, the Soviets practically participated in the war against Nazi Germany, with Stalin fearing that a second Munich Agreement with the Soviet Union would replace Czechoslovakia. Thus, the agreement indirectly contributed to the outbreak of war in 1939. [60] Six months later, in March 1939, German troops captured the rest of Czechoslovakia. Poland seemed to be the next most likely victim of Nazi aggression, and Chamberlain struck a deal with the Poles to defend them in Germany.
Hitler did not believe that Britain would go to war for Poland after failing to do so through Czechoslovakia. In September 1939, he sent his soldiers to Poland. On the same day, Britain declared war on Germany. As threats from Germany and a European war became more and more apparent, opinions changed. Chamberlain has been criticized for his role as one of the „men of Munich“ in books such as The Guilty Men of 1940. A rare defence of the deal came in 1944 from Viscount Maugham, who had been Lord Chancellor. Maugham regarded the decision to establish a Czechoslovak state with large German and Hungarian minorities as a „dangerous experiment“ in light of previous disputes and largely attributed the agreement to the need for France to free itself from its contractual obligations given that it was not prepared for war. [63] After the war, Churchill`s memoirs of the time, The Gathering Storm (1948), claimed that Chamberlain`s appeasement of Hitler in Munich had been wrong, and recorded Churchill`s warnings about war before Hitler`s plan of attack and the madness that Britain insisted on disarmament after Germany had achieved air parity with Britain. Although Churchill acknowledged that Chamberlain was acting for noble motives, he argued that Hitler should have been fought because of Czechoslovakia and that efforts should have been made to include the Soviet Union.
The agreement was generally well received. French Prime Minister Daladier did not believe, as one scholar put it, that a European war was justified „to keep three million Germans under Czech sovereignty.“ But the same argument applies to Alsace-Lorraine – unlike the alliance between France and Czechoslovakia against German aggression. Gallup polls in Britain, France and the United States showed that the majority of people supported the deal. Czechoslovak President Beneš was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1939. [52] By December 1938, the Sudetenland was the most National Socialist region in the Reich, with half a million Sudeten Germans becoming members of 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 agreement was signed, Germany retook the Sudetenland. The Czechoslovaks did not retaliate. On March 15, 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, which hoped for independence, was taken over by Hungary.
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 (September 30) 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 break, 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. The plebiscite, in order to give him control of the regions where Sudeten Germans are in the minority, was used as an instrument of the referendum (which was rejected as part of the Anglo-French proposals). Did Mr Chamberlain and Mr Daladier ask Hitler what the purpose of the referendum was and how he could expect without intimidation a Sudeten German majority in areas where they are known to be a minority? The elections and referendums held under Hitler offer many examples of how they can be manipulated. In Munich, Hitler won what he wanted – domination over Central Europe – and German troops marched into the Sudetenland on the night of October 1.
The day before, the Czech government had adopted the Munich Pact. General Sirovy, Czech Prime Minister, told his people on the radio that he had experienced the most tragic moment of his life: „I am fulfilling the most painful duty that may ever have fallen on me, a duty worse than dying. The forces that have risen against us compel us to recognize their superiority and act accordingly. In Germany, Josef Goebbels said: „We all walked on a thin metal cable over a dizzying abyss. The world is filled with a frenzy of joy. Germany`s prestige has increased enormously. Now we are truly a world power again. When Germany, France, Britain and Italy signed the Munich Accords in the early morning of September 30, 1938, the Nazis took control of the Czechoslovak Sudetenland, where ethnic Germans lived mainly along the Czech borders. The treaty also allowed Germany to take control of Czechoslovakia, which it officially did on March 15, 1939. It should be noted that Czechoslovakia was not represented at the conference that decided the fate of that country.
In retrospect, the deal is seen as a failed attempt to avoid war with Nazi Germany. The Manchester Guardian covered every angle of history – 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 around 1:30 a.m. on September 30.m .m. 1938,[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 almost identical to Godesberg`s proposal: the German army was to complete the occupation of the Sudetenland by October 10, and an international commission was to decide on the future of the other disputed territories. .