Munich: The Sigh of Relief Before the Plunge



Chamberlain declaring "peace in our time"



On September 30, 1938, a treaty was signed which would not only give the rapidly expanding Germany more land, but also give British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to famously proclaim "I have secured peace in our time." This would turn out to be the last peaceful conference between the powers of Europe before the outbreak of World War II. To the Czech, it was known as the Munich Betrayal, but to the rest of Europe it was known simply as the Munich Agreement.

Germany had already annexed Austria in the Anshluss and moved troops into the Saar earlier in the decade. Now, Hitler had his eyes on occupying the Sudetenland, the border region of Czechoslovakia with a German-speaking population. Of course, the Czech government was not about to give up its territory and pleaded to the British for help. As both the British and French had seen, Germany was being very aggressive in its foreign policy and both wanted to prevent war at all costs.

Tensions were heating up between Germany and Czechoslovakia. The Czechs ordered a partial mobilization in anticipation of a German invasion. Hitler demanded from the British the immediate ceding of the Sudetenland to Germany. When both Britain and France agreed to this, Czechoslovakia refused, but an ultimatum was issued to the Czechs for acceptance from Britain and France. Czechoslovakia gave in on September 21, by which time Neville Chamberlain was pleading to Germany for a conference to settle the issue.

So the Munich Agreement was signed by Germany, Britain, France and Italy. Basically, Germany would occupy the Sudetenland, and get control of the rest of Czechoslovakia as long as Hitler promised to go no further in his territorial campaign. Czechoslovakia was informed that either they would cooperate, or resist Germany alone. Reluctantly, the Czechs agreed to cooperate. It was just after the conference had concluded that Chamberlain approached Hitler and asked for a peace treaty between Britain and Germany, to which Hitler was delighted to comply with. This is what Neville Chamberlain spoke about to the British people when he proclaimed that "peace in our time" had been secured.

One consequence of the Munich Agreement besides the virtual dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which was divided into independent Slovakia and the German-controlled Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was that German troops now had troop positions all along the Polish border. Also, because of the unwavering rapidity to comply with Hitler's demands, the Soviet Union feared that should Germany have territorial claims on Russian soil, that the British and French would stand by and let that happen as well. This was one of the causes of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the peace resolution between Germany and the Soviet Union.

Much to many people's dismay, and many more people's expectations, the Munich Agreement did not sate Germany's ambitions, and almost a year later, on September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. So began the Second World War in Europe, a war that many thought had been prevented by the Munich Agreement. Until next time, take care, and thank you.