What was the Munich Agreement?

What was the effect of the Munich Agreement?

• What was the effect of the Munich Agreement? 10 points to whoever helps!

• Answer:

  Hitler demanded the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, and was threatening to go to war to get it. He contended that the residents of that area were a German-speaking minority, and that they were being mistreated by the Czech government, which was dominated by non-Germans. He also played on the idea that all Germans should be united with Germany. Sudetenland had never been part of Germany. Prior to 1918, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was German-speaking. After the First World War, however, the Austrian Empire was disbanded, and new countries were created, and putting the Sudetens in Czechoslovakia illustrated the problem of trying to give each ethnic group its own appropriate country. The real reason Hitler wanted Sudetenland was because it was mountainous, and it provided a great defense against attack, and a great way to attack the rest of Czechoslovakia. England and France were obligated by treaty to defend Czechoslovakia, but they did not believe it was worth going to war over this issue. Besides, Hitler promised that this would be his "last territorial demand" in Europe, and the foolish English and French believed him. So, they, along with Russia and Italy, signed an agreement giving Hitler control of the Sudeten region. Poland and Hungary made off with a piece of Czechoslovakia too. Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister of England, returning to London waving a scrap of paper, thought he had secured "peace in our time," and he was hailed as a hero for avoiding war. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were so thrilled with his efforts that they stood with him on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as he received the cheers of the happy crowds below. Others in England, like Winston Churchill, thought it was terrible, but no one listened to them at that time. Hitler proved his treachery. Within six months (by March 1939), he attacked Czechoslovakia, and Europe knew never to trust him again. When Hitler attacked Poland in September, 1939, England and France declared war. The lesson of Munich today is that dictators have to be faced down, not appeased.