Definitely, Munich agreement can be called one of the most serious mistakes of the foreign policy of the 1930s. This is a diplomatic agreement that arose as a compromise proposed by European countries by Nazi Germany to try to restrain her warlike moods, but led to the outbreak of World War II.
After the collapse and division of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from 1918 to 1938, more than three million ethnic Germans found themselves in the territory of the new state of Czechoslovakia, the border of which passed along the borders of the historical region of the kingdom of Bohemia. They compactly lived in the Sudetenland. According to Natalia Lebedeva, historian of the Russian Academy of Sciences, twenty percent of Czechoslovakia were German.
The German leader of the Sudeten Conrad Henlein founded the Sudeten German Party, which served as a branch of the Nazi party and acted exclusively in the interests of Germany. By 1935, it was the second largest political party in Czechoslovakia. Shortly after the Anschluss (unification with Germany) of Austria, on March 28, 1938, Henlein met with Hitler in Berlin, where he was entrusted with increasing the demands on the Czechoslovak government, known as the Carlsbad Program. Among the requirements are equal rights with the Czechs and autonomy for the Germans living in Czechoslovakia. If the Czechoslovak government was ready to make serious concessions to the German minority, the issue of autonomy was unacceptable.
Hitler’s plans after the accession of Austria, the next step was the conquest of Czechoslovakia and the creation of Great Germany. In May 1938, it became known that the occupation of Czechoslovakia was in fact a settled issue for Germany. On May 20, Hitler and his generals presented a temporary project of an attack on Czechoslovakia, code-named Operation Grun. A secret directive signed by Hitler a few days later stated that the war against Czechoslovakia should be launched no later than October 1.
The Czechoslovak government hoped that France, with which it had an alliance, would come to the rescue in the event of a German invasion. The Soviet Union also had an agreement with Czechoslovakia, indicating a willingness to cooperate with France and Britain. However, the potential services of the Soviet Union were ignored throughout the crisis. Adolf Hitler understood that Great Britain and France did not want war, but they were unlikely to seek to unite with the Soviet Union, the totalitarian system of which these countries hated even more than Hitler’s fascist dictatorship.
Perhaps at that stage Czechoslovakia itself, which had a strong army, could contain the attack of Hitler's army. The Soviet Union, in accordance with the 1935 agreement signed between the two countries, could only help Czechoslovakia if France agreed to such a move.
On September 18, the Italian Duce Benito Mussolini made a speech in Trieste, where he said that Italy in the current crisis supports Germany.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, a supporter of a policy of appeasement of the aggressor, was determined to prevent a war. He made two trips to Germany, without consulting the Czechoslovak leaders, offered Hitler favorable conditions, but the Fuhrer continued to add requirements, insisting that the claims of ethnic Germans in Poland and Hungary would also be satisfied.
On September 24, speaking at the Sports Palace in Berlin, Hitler in his speech gave Czechoslovakia a deadline of September 28 to cede the Sudetenland, otherwise Germany entered the war.
Czechoslovakia began the mobilization of its troops. The Soviet Union declared its readiness to come to the aid of Czechoslovakia. However, the president of Czechoslovakia, Edwar Benes, refused to enter the war without the support of the Western powers.
Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Edward Deladier went to Munich to respond to Hitler's demands.
Benito Mussolini suggested Hitler one way to solve the problem: to hold a conference with the leaders of four countries (Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany), excluding Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, in order to increase the possibility of reaching an agreement and undermining solidarity that might not work out in favor of Germany.
The decisive meeting, known as the Munich Conference , took place on September 29-30 in the Führerbau building (Führer House). The proposals were formally introduced by Mussolini, although, as it was discovered several years later, the Italian plan was prepared at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The German army was supposed to occupy the Sudetenland by October 10, and the international commission had to decide the future of other disputed areas. In desperation, in order to prevent the outbreak of war and trying to avoid an alliance with the Soviet Union, Neville Chamberlain and Eduard Daladier agreed that the Sudetenland should go over to Germany. In turn, Hitler promised that he would no longer demand any territories in Europe.
Ultimately, the decision was formalized: Germany, Britain, France and Italy signed the Munich Agreement, according to which the outbreak of war was prevented, but Czechoslovakia transferred the Sudetenland to Germany. The Czechoslovak government was forced to accept it. Neville Chamberlain told Edward Benes that Britain would not enter the war on the Sudetenland issue.
Deladier and Chamberlain returned home, where they were met by crowds of jubilant people who were relieved that the threat of war had passed. Chamberlain addressed the British public with the words that he "brought peace to our time." But his words were immediately challenged by the prominent politician Winston Churchill, who stated that Neville made a choice between war and dishonor: "You have chosen dishonor and the war will come." The British government lost the support of the Czech government and the Czech army, one of the best in Europe, as indicated by Winston Churchill and another famous politician, Anthony Eden. Many historians agree that the Munich Agreement, seen as the main argument for avoiding military conflict, actually doomed Europe to a destructive war.
Deladier was embarrassed by the treacherous agreement, but Chamberlain was ecstatic. Before leaving Munich, he even signed a document with Hitler stating that Britain and Germany would strive to resolve their differences to ensure future peace.
The day after the signing of the pacification pact, Germany annexed the Sudetenland. Chamberlain's policy was discredited the following year.
A little later, Poland and Hungary, who had their own territorial claims, also took part in the Czechoslovak section. Terminating the Munich Agreement, in March 1939, Germany occupied the remaining part of Czechoslovakia. The country has ceased to exist. On September 1, 1939 , Germany invaded Poland. The Second World War began. Only then did Neville Chamberlain realize that Hitler should not be trusted.
The Munich agreement has become synonymous with the futility of appealing to the expansionist policies of totalitarian states, although to some extent it has helped to gain time for the allies to increase their combat readiness.