Transcript The Nazis and Czechoslovakia,1938

The Nazis and
Czechoslovakia,1938
The May Crisis
 German troops were reported to be near
the border between Germany and
Czechoslovakia at a time when Hitler was
repeatedly claiming Sudeten Germans were
being persecuted by the Czechs.
 On the weekend of 20-21 May the Czech
army partially mobilised in response.
 Britain and France warned Germany to back
down, which they did, but WAR HAD
SEEMED A REAL POSSIBILITY!
Effects of the Crisis
 Hitler felt humiliated. He ordered his
generals to be ready to destroy
Czechoslovakia no later than October 1st,
1938. Hitler now was completely fixed on
Czechoslovakia as his next target.
 Britain and France now felt that
- if they were firm with Hitler a compromise
could be reached over the Czech problem
- the Czech problem was largely CAUSED
by the Czechs themselves being unwilling
to accept that Hitler had a “justifiable
grievance” over the Sudetenland.
Hitler cranks up the tension
 The German army organises large-scale
military exercises in July.
 The German army is partially mobilised by
August.
 Hitler stirs up Poland and Hungary to
demand concessions from Czechoslovakia
about Polish and Hungarian ethnic
minorities within Czechoslovakia.
 Hitler continues to make speeches
threatening the Czechs and demanding
greater self-rule for the Sudetenlanders.
Benes, the Czech Prime Minister
The Czech response
 On 4th Sept., the Czech President,
Benes, agrees to many of Henlein’s
demands, infuriating the Nazis, who
had hoped to use a Czech refusal to
compromise to justify invasion. The
Sudeten Nazi Party breaks off
negotiations with Benes. Riots in the
Sudetenland are suppressed by the
Czech government. WAR LOOKS
IMMINENT!!
British public opinion, antiappeasement (minority)
Neville Chamberlain, British P.M.
Meeting 1, 15th September, 1938
 Meeting at Berchtesgaden, Germany,
between Adolf Hitler and Neville
Chamberlain.
 Hitler demanded that the
Sudetenland be handed over to
Germany.
 Chamberlain over the next week
persuaded the French and even the
Czechs to agree to the hand-over at
some time in the future.
Meeting 2, 22nd September, 1938
 Meeting at Bad Godesberg, Germany,
between Adolf Hitler and Neville
Chamberlain.
 Hitler now demanded that the Sudetenland
be occupied by Germany in its present
condition with no compensation for lost
Czech property or belongings no later that
Sept. 28th, or there would be war, as the
Germans would have to go in to “protect”
the Sudeten Germans from “Czech attacks”.
 The British cabinet and the Czech
government rejected Hitler’s demands.
International reaction
 The Czech army was fully mobilised.
 The French government called up its
military reservists, and began a very
efficient mobilisation. France had a military
agreement to protect Czechoslovakia if
attacked.
 The British had mobilised their fleet,
warned anti-aircraft batteries to be
prepared for aerial attacks and key public
buildings were sand-bagged to protect
against bombing from the air.
 Mussolini of Italy encouraged Hitler not to
go to war, offering to chair a four-power
conference to try to resolve the dispute.
What Chamberlain said
 “How horrible, fantastic, incredible it
is that we should be digging trenches
and trying on gas-masks here
because of a quarrel in a far-away
country between people of whom we
know nothing!”
 Hitler said ”The Czech problem is the
last territorial claim I have to make in
Europe”.
Meeting 3, 29th September, 1938
 Meeting in Munich, Germany, between Adolf
Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Mussolini (Italian
leader) and Daladier (French P.M.)
Who wasn’t invited
 THE CZECHS!!!
 The Soviet Union, even
though they had agreed
to back up the French if
the Czechs
were
attacked.
What was agreed at Munich?
 The Germans received the Sudetenland and
two other areas in which the majority of
inhabitants were German-speaking.
 The Czechs were given only 12 hours to accept
the terms.
The ”Piece of Paper”
 In addition to the Munich agreement, Hitler
and Chamberlain both signed a separate
agreement “as symbolic of the desire of our
two peoples never to go to war again….and
thus to….assure the peace of Europe.”
Consequences of the Munich
Agreement
 Czechoslovakia lost border fortifications,
70% of its iron/steel production, 70% of its
electrical power,3.5 million inhabitants,30%
of its land and the Škoda Works to
Germany as a result of the settlement.
 The Czech capital, Prague, was now a much
easier target because the land between it
and the German border was flat and hard
to defend, particularly against tanks. The
loss of the Sudeten mountains also made
aerial bombing by the Germans more
possible.
Consequences, cont.
 Hungary used the situation to seize
part of Southern Slovakia on October
2nd, 1938
 Poland took over part of Silesia on
November 1st, 1938.
 Slovakia declared itself to have selfgovernment within Czechoslovakia on
Oct.7th, 1938, so undermining the
whole idea of a Czechoslovakian
nation.
Consequences, cont.
 French credibility as a Czech ally was
destroyed, as they had not kept to
their promise to defend
Czechoslovakia. As the Soviet Union’s
support would only come after French
support, it was clear now that the
Czechs could not count on either of
them for support in the future. Britain
and France had promised to protect
what was left, but would they in
reality?
Consequences, cont.
 Hitler’s prestige in Germany was greatly
increased.
 Hitler had brought more than 3 million
Germans into the Reich.
 The Nazis quickly used and adapted Czech
factories and weapons to speed up their
own rearmament programme.
 The Soviet Union felt angry at being
excluded from the Munich conference and
decided to act in their own interest in the
future without consulting the other Great
Powers.