The Sudetenland crisis

Learning Objective: To understand the events of the Sudeten crisis and its impact

on international relations

Bingo

Appeasement Axis Alliance Chamberlain Anschlussgoose step Rhineland Spanish civil

warPlebiscite Saar land Anti-Comintern Pact

RECAP

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR IN FOREIGN POLICY?

Explain the following• Saar land• Rhineland• Spanish civil war• Anschluss• Appeasement• Failure of the League of Nations

The Sudeten crisis• By 1938 Hitler had grown

in considerable confidence• He had got away with so

much, even he believed there was no stopping him

• March 1938, Hitler began to turn his attention to the German speaking people incorporated into Czechoslovakia in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles

• This area was called the Sudetenland.

What does this source suggest about Hitler’s motives towards

Czechoslovakia?SOURCE The Sudetenland is the last problem that must be

solved and it will be solved. It is the last territorial claim which I have to make in Europe The aims of our foreign policy are not unlimited . . . They are grounded on the determination to save the German people alone . . . Ten million Germans found themselves beyond the frontiers of the Reich . . . Germans who wished to return to the Reich as their homeland.

Hitler speaking in Berlin, September 1938.

Czechoslovakia

• The Czechoslovakian leader Edward Benes was horrified and concerned at the Anschluss

• Benes, despite their previous inaction, sought the help and guarantees from Britain and France. They claimed they would help Czechoslovakia if they were attacked by Hitler.

What were Hitler’s intentions?

• A large number of Germans lived in Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland

• The German leader of the Sudetenland, Henlein stirred up trouble in the area and held demonstrations demanding to be incorporated back into Germany

• In May 1938 Hitler made it clear he would support the Sudeten Germans claims and fight Czechoslovakia

• The world was worried that another war would break out over this small area

• Hitler himself knew that it would not be easy to take over Czechoslovakia- Britain and France had promised to support them and the Czech leader was willing to put up a fight. They wouldn’t hand the area over easily- it contained valuable industry and railways

Meeting Hitler

• By September the problem had reached crisis point

• In a bid to avoid war, the British PM Chamberlain flew to meet Hitler on 15 Sept. 1938

• The meeting went well- Hitler moderated his aims and claimed to only be interested in the German speaking area of the Sudetenland

• Chamberlain thought all this was reasonable- if he got what he wanted, Hitler would be satisfied and make no more demands

• They proposed to the Czechs that Hitler receive part of the Sudetenland

• Hitler then said this was not enough, he wanted the whole area.

The Munich Agreement• Hitler now demanded more than he had originally promised• He said this was because the Czech government were

mistreating the Germans in the Sudetenland and he intended to rescue them. Chamberlain said this claim was unreasonable

• War seemed imminent.• At the last stage war was averted by Mussolini who called a

final meeting in Munich on 29 September 1938. They decided to give Hitler what he wanted to avoid war. The Czechs were not even consulted.

• Hitler had been given what he wanted again. • Hitler had gambled that the British would not risk war and

once again his gamble had paid off• 1 October 1938 Hitler took over the Sudetenland • Hungary and Poland also helped themselves to parts of

Czechoslovakia • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmH5A6QsqRY

How did Chamberlain justify his actions?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO725Hbzfls&feature=related

People of Britain, your children are safe. Your husbands and you sons will not march to war. Peace is a victory for all mankind…..

The Daily Express Sept 1938

Not everyone felt the same about the Munich Agreement

We have suffered a total defeat… I think you will find that in a period of time Czechoslovakia will be engulfed in the Nazi regime.. This is only the beginning of the reckoning.

Churchill 1938

The Czech Crisis

Cartoon by Gabriel, London Illustrated News September 1938.

What is the message of this cartoon?

A triumph or a sell out?• Most people in Britain for a

short time in 1938 believed that war had been averted

• But many began to openly question the policy of appeasement

• By 1938 most people believed that Hitler could not be appeased

• In reality many came to see the Munich Agreement as delaying war rather than preventing it

• Countries began to seriously re-arm

By repeatedly surrendering to force, Chamberlain has encouraged aggression… our central contention, therefore, is that Mr Chamberlain’s policy throughout has been based on a fatal misunderstanding.

The Yorkshire Post

What were the consequences?

• Most people in Britain and France did not trust Hitler and countries began to re-arm in earnest

• March 1939 Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, he faced no resistance despite the fact that this was an invasion. There was no reason or justification for this take over

• But it was clear Hitler could not be trusted and the policy of appeasement came to an end.

• Hitler’s next target was likely to be Poland. This led Britain and France to agreeing to protect Polish independence (go to war with Germany if he attacked them). Hitler did not believe they would risk war.

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/chamberlains-attempts-to-keep-the-peace-through-appeasement/2478.html

German troops entering Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, March 1939

What is the message of this source?

Hitler is demanding that all Germans have the right to live under German rule

He will use this as an excuse to take over land in Europe- to gain Lebensraum

If the leaders of Europe don’t do anything, there will be no stopping him- referring to appeasement

Line of ghosts represents the Nazi persecution that will take place in these countries

He will keep using the same excuse to continue to take over more and more land. His greed knows no bounds

They must stop him!

Produced in 1938- context of the Sudetenland crisis- this was Hitler’s excuse- Germans were living under foreign rule.

Task: breaking news

• You need to complete a newspaper article that assesses and comments on the Sudetenland crisis

Your article should include• Background to Hitler’s previous actions• Outline of the events of the Sudetenland crisis• Outline the good and bad points of Chamberlain’s

actions and appeasement• The results of the crisis• You concluding points and predictions- had

appeasing Hitler worked?