Sudeten crisis and Munich agreement

• After the feeble British and French response to the Anschluss, Hitler decided to press on with his expansionist foreign policy, aiming to add the Sudetenland to his German Reich
• Obstacles to Hitler's goal of adding the Sudetenland to Germany:

  • Czechoslovakia was a strong Democracy under the leadership of Benes, with no intention of handing the Sudetenland to Germany
  • Czechoslovakia had a well-trained, modern army with strong border forts and a robust armaments industry, including factories in the Sudetenland
  • Czechoslovakia had international support from France and the Soviet Union
• In September 1938, the Munich Agreement handed over the Sudetenland to Germany, with the Czechs unable to oppose it, satisfying Hitler's demands without conflict
• Timeline of Sudeten Crisis Events:

  • 15th September 1938: Chamberlain meets Hitler in Berlin, where Hitler states his interest in parts of the Sudetenland, later increasing his demands to all of it
  • 22nd September 1938: Hitler claims mistreatment of Sudeten Germans by the Czech government and vows to 'rescue them' by October 1st, leading to imminent war preparations
• Hitler's speech in Berlin in September 1938 emphasized the Sudetenland as the last territorial claim he had to make in Europe, stating that the aims of his foreign policy were not unlimited