Neville Chamberlain’s infamous debacle of surrendering the Sudetenland to Germany in 1938 by negotiating and signing the Munich Pact was one among many that helped bring about the catastrophe of World War II. During a
The disastrous Munich Pact should not be seen in a vacuum.
decade which saw the rise of Nazism in Germany, fascism in Italy and aggressive militarism in Japan, the world community lacked the resolve to preemptively prevent these threats.
The Versailles Treaty of June 28, 1919, was intended to punish Germany for its role in the First World War. According to its terms, Germany was to be held accountable for the war, and any future military ambitions were to be held in check. As any agreement, it was only as good as the parties’ willingness to enforce its’ terms.
From the moment it was ratified, Germany had violated some of its terms, when it had refused to surrender those whose actions violated the conventions of war to be tried by the allies, which included the Kaiser himself.
Over time, more German violations followed. By 1930, Germany stopped paying war reparations as called for by the agreement.
In 1933, as Adolf Hitler, now chancellor of Germany showed utter disregard for the agreement. It should have come as no surprise as he had expressed in Mein Kampf his disdain for Versailles. Hitler had also announced Mein Kampf his territorial ambitions in and was now ruler of Germany.
Just nine months after seizing power, Hitler established a concentration camp in Dachau for opponents of the regime. His intentions were clear.
With World War One and its horrors in memory few wanted to prepare for war. Many sought refuge in the wishful thinking that Hitler could or would be reasonable. Britain was suffering the effects of the Great Depression and was not in a war preparation mode. America which had joined the WWI allied late, in 1917, was instrumental in defeating the central powers and then reverted back to its earlier pre-war isolationist policies. But the German people and their chancellor were on a different course.
By 1935, the Versailles Treaty was of no value, as its provisions calling for the demilitarization of Germany were flagrantly violated. The treaty stated that Germany should have a limited army with no submarines, military aviation, German General Staff, or army conscription. The Germans had it all. An air force of two thousand five hundred planes, an army of three hundred thousand troops with an announcement by Hitler that he was imposing a draft in order to increase the army size to five hundred and fifty thousand.
In 1936, German troops marched into the Rhineland of Germany to reoccupy a zone specifically prohibited by Versailles. Germany also reclaimed sovereignty and fortified the tiny neutral but strategic island of Helgoland, another violation. Yet through it all there was no international opposition to Hitler.
As the Versailles agreement was nullified, Hitler intensified the brutal German dictatorship threatening non-Aryans. Among a host of repressive measures, the Nuremburg Laws of 1935 censored Jews from German society.
The world’s inattentiveness to Hitler emboldened aggressiveness of other dictators, whom feared no repercussions. In 1935 Italy’s fascist leader Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia murdering tens of thousands of civilians. Invading Italian forces used mustard gas and the League of Nations declared Italy the aggressor but took no action. In an impassioned appeal before the League of Nations, on June 30, of 1936, Haile Salassie, Emperor of Ethiopia stated, “Are states going to set up a terrible precedent of bowing before force?”
In Asia, Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and then China in 1937 in order to procure raw materials for their war machine. These invasions wrecked havoc and caused horrific civilian casualties.
In 1938, as Germany’s war machine was in high gear and its generals were preparing future invasions, Hitler claimed to harbor no further territorial ambitions, or desire for war. He then pressed for the ‘rights’ of ethnic Germans living in the Sudetenland. Hitler claimed his intentions were to reunite them with their ‘homeland.’ Hitler again ranted as he threatened to take action.
When the Munich Pact was signed on October 10, 1938, granting the German army occupation of the Sudetenland, the Czechs who strongly opposed the deal were informed by their western ‘allies’ that they could either resist alone, or cooperate. They were sold out in their hour of need. But in actuality, Chamberlain and his allies who cosigned Munich Pact, sold out the free world. The applause and celebration following the premier’s return to England was all in vain.
Five months later, on March 14, 1939, Slovakia had seceded from Czech and became a pro-Nazi state. The next day, the Czechs with little hope to resist, accepted the German occupation of what remained of its country. Germany then primed itself for its next advances. War was looming even closer.
Just months earlier Winston Churchill, a lone voice amid the euphoria and fantasy following the agreement stated in the British House of Commons, “You will find that in a period of time which may be measured by years, but may be measured by months, Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi regime.”
A week before the German Blitzkrieg into Poland on August 22, 1939, Hitler stated, “Poland is the position I wanted.”
The disastrous Munich Pact should not be seen in a vacuum. It was one calamity among many at a time when evil was given the opportunity to rise and threaten civilization.
Are we again living in such an era?