Now it has become fashionable to accuse the USSR of inciting the Second World War, they say, the Molotov-Ribentrop Pact untied the hands of Nazi Germany. Almost everyone knows about this pact, but we are constantly reminded of this, so that we would penetrate and realize: what kind of bastards we are all.
With all this, they try not to mention the Munich agreements of 1938, called the "Munich Agreement", signed by A. Hitler, B. Mussolini, N. Chamberlain and E. Daladier. Many believe that it was these agreements that led to the war, let's figure it out.
Munich Agreement 1938. Agreement on the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia reached on September 29-30 in Munich by the heads of government of Great Britain (N. Chamberlain), France (E. Daladier), Nazi Germany (A. Hitler) and fascist Italy (B. Mussolini). The ease with which Hitler carried out the Anschluss of Austria in March 1938 encouraged him to further aggressive actions, now against Czechoslovakia. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia quickly became one of the most prosperous countries in Central Europe. Many of the most important industrial enterprises were located on its territory, including the Skoda steel works and military factories. With a population of 14 million on the eve of the Munich Agreement, in addition to Czechs and Slovaks, about 3.3 million ethnic Germans lived in the country. German-speaking population, so-called. Sudeten Germans constantly loudly declared about discriminatory measures against them by the Czechoslovak government. Almost half of the country's 1 million unemployed were Sudeten Germans. The central authorities took all possible measures to reduce the intensity of discontent in the Sudetenland: representation in the National Assembly, equal rights in relation to education, local self-government, etc., but the tension did not subside. Hitler decided to take advantage of the unstable situation in the Sudetenland and in February 1938 appealed to the Reichstag with an appeal "to pay attention to the appalling living conditions of the German brothers in Czechoslovakia." He stated that the Sudeten Germans can count on the Third Reich to protect them from the Czechoslovak oppressors. In the German press, a wave of accusations arose against the Czechoslovak authorities for allegedly committing atrocities against the Sudeten Germans. Taking advantage of a small border incident that killed several Germans, Hitler pushed German troops to the border with Czechoslovakia, hoping to exert political and military pressure on the country, whose army was only 400 thousand people. But the Soviet Union and France warned Germany that they would fulfill their obligations towards Czechoslovakia, and Hitler was forced to withdraw his troops from the border. However, the cautious Chamberlain said that he could not guarantee British support in the event of German aggression against Czechoslovakia. Encouraged by the indecision of the British government, Hitler decided to rely in his plans on the "fifth column", which was represented by the Sudeten Germans and the pro-Nazi Sudeten German party. At his direction, the leader of this party, Henlein, put forward a number of demands, which essentially implied the renunciation of Czechoslovakia's sovereignty over the Sudetenland (April 24). On May 30, Hitler convened a secret meeting of the generals in Jüterbog, at which he declared: "It is my unwavering desire to destroy Czechoslovakia as a result of hostilities in the very near future." Then he announced the order to conduct Operation Grün no later than October 1, 1938.
Further events immediately preceding the signing of the Munich Agreement are as follows: the maneuvers of the Anglo-French diplomacy in order to justify before public opinion the prepared deal with Hitler and attempts to persuade Czechoslovakia to surrender; the mutiny of the Sudeten Nazis on September 13, suppressed by the armed forces of Czechoslovakia; The Berchtesgaden meeting of 1938, during which Chamberlain, in principle agreeing with Hitler's demand for the transfer of border Czechoslovak territories to Germany, only expressed a request not to start hostilities (September 15); the Anglo-French ultimatum (September 18) on the transfer of part of the Czechoslovak territory to Germany ("it is necessary to cede to Germany the areas inhabited mainly by the Sudeten Germans in order to avoid an all-European war"), adopted on September 21 by the President of Czechoslovakia E. Benes; Chamberlain's meeting with Hitler in Bad Godesberg to discuss new demands of the German government that are even more difficult for Czechoslovakia (September 22).
At the moment of the greatest tension, Mussolini advised Hitler to convene a quadripartite conference in order to settle all the problems that had arisen. Agreeing to this proposal, Hitler made a speech at a mass rally at the Palais des Sports in Berlin on September 26. He assured Chamberlain and the whole world that if the problem of the Sudeten Germans is resolved, he will not make further territorial claims in Europe: “We are now approaching the last problem that needs to be resolved. This is the last territorial demand that I put before Europe. In 1919, three and a half million Germans were cut off from their compatriots by a group of crazy politicians. The Czechoslovak state grew out of a monstrous lie, and the name of this liar is Benes. " Chamberlain went for the third time to Germany, to Munich, to literally beg Hitler for peace. He wrote: "I wanted to try again, because the only alternative was war."
The Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia were not allowed to negotiate. Chamberlain and Daladier accepted Hitler's terms and jointly put pressure on the Czechoslovak government. The text of the agreement, drawn up on September 29, was signed the next day. The agreement provided for the transfer of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany from October 1 to October 10, 1938 (with all structures and fortifications, factories, factories, stocks of raw materials, communication routes, etc.), satisfaction at the expense of Czechoslovakia within 3 months of the territorial claims of Hungary and Poland, the "guarantee" by the parties to the agreement of the new borders of Czechoslovakia against unprovoked aggression (the invasion of Czechoslovakia by German troops in March 1939 revealed the false nature of these "guarantees"). On September 30, the Czechoslovak government adopted the Munich diktat without the consent of the National Assembly. Chamberlain, returning to London, joyfully declared at the airport, waving the text of the agreement: "I have brought peace to our time." Shocked by this policy of connivance at the aggressor, Winston Churchill said: “I will remind those who would like not to notice or forget, but that nevertheless we have to admit, namely, we have experienced a general and obvious defeat, and France has demolished even more than we did … And there is no reason to hope that it will all end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip from the bitter cup that will be offered to us from day to day, if there is no incredible restoration of moral health and military power, if we do not wake up again and we will bet on freedom, as in the old days."
The agreement signed in Munich was one of the most striking manifestations of the "appeasement" policy pursued by the governments of Great Britain and France on the eve of World War II with the aim of achieving collusion with Nazi Germany at the expense of the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe, to ward off Hitler's aggression from Great Britain and France and send her to the East, against the Soviet Union. The Munich Agreement was an important milestone in the preparation of World War II.
