1. Crisis April-September
Hitler instructed German Sudeten leader to demand separation from Czechoslovakia
Czechs did not want to give up Sudetenland
Believed French would support them
Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, wanted to avoid war, so he went to Germany twice

2. Chamberlain’s Visits 1) Sept 15:
Hitler insisted he would risk war to re-unite the Sudeten Germans with Germany
Chamberlain accepted to allow those areas with a majority of Germans to be reabsorbed into Germany
He persuaded the Czechs and French to agree to Hitler’s demands

3. Chamberlain’s Visits 2) Sept 22:
Hitler changed his demands to include the occupation of the entire Sudetenland by the 28th
Hitler threatened to invade by the 1st if his demands were not met
Chamberlain refused 
Britain & France prepared
for war

4. Munich Conference
“We must always demand so much that we can never be satisfied.”
- Adolf Hitler on his
strategy during
negotiations at Munich

5. Munich Conference
“ In spite of the hardness I thought I saw in his (Hitler’s) face, I got the impression that here was a man who could be relied upon when he had given his word.”
- Neville Chamberlain
prior to the Munich
Conference

6. Munich Conference – Sept 1938
Hitler was persuaded to postpone his plans for war and to agree to a conference to discuss the Sudetenland
Mussolini (Italy), Chamberlain (GB), Hitler (Germany) and Daladier (France) were invited to the conference WHO WAS LEFT OUT?
Agreement was reached that the Sudetenland would be transferred to Germany and that the 4 powers would protect these new borders

7. Munich Conference
Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Ciano

8. Munich Conference
The day after, Chamberlain met with Hitler alone and agreed to the Anglo-German Declaration.
Promised never to go to war with each other
All disputes would be settled by talks
Failure of Our Times

9. Munich Conference

10. Munich Conference: Results
Europe had been saved from war
Britain and France got time to build up their armies
Czechs lost vital resources & defenses
Hitler was encouraged by France & Britain’s reluctance to go to war
Stalin was very upset about being left out of the conference  worried that Britain would do nothing to stop a German invasion of USSR

13. At the time, do you think Chamberlain and the Allies did the right thing in trying to negotiate with Hitler?

14. Appeasement
Definition: granting concessions to potential enemies to maintain peace

15. Arguments For: Britain was not militarily strong enough to oppose
British people absolutely did not want a WWI repeat
Chamberlain believed that Hitler could be satisfied without having to go to war

16. Arguments Against:
Not right: Hitler was breaking terms of legal treaties and agreements
Allowed Hitler to grow stronger and stronger
Hitler’s aims & determination were underestimated
“By repeatedly surrendering to force, Chamberlain has encouraged aggression. Chamberlain’s policy has always been based on a fatal misunderstanding of the minds of dictators.” The Yorkshire Post, Dec 1939

17. Imminent War March 1939: Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
Hitler’s argument that he was unifying the German people no longer held water
Britain & France sped up their armament
Britain & France promised to defend the independence of Poland
Poland was the next target because Hitler wanted back the Danzig passage lost in T. of V. & to reunify Germany

19. “England has been offered a choice between war and shame
“England has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame and will get war.”
- Winston Churchill, in opposition to Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement, September 1938

20. Discussion Question
Do you think appeasement is something that still goes on today? Explain.