Map showing the territorial losses of Czechoslovakia in 1938 as a result of the Munich Agreement
Attempts to revise the results of World War II and pointing fingers at new culprits for unleashing it have become “good form” in the past few years in many Eastern European countries. When they attempt to include the Soviet Union amongst the aggressors, revisionists usually start the countdown from the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, saying that the Soviet leadership gave the aggressor a green light. But, amidst frequent references to the summer and fall of 1939, they often forget the events of the previous year, 1938, which has gone down in history as the year of the Munich Agreement. Currently, Russia is declassifying many documents relating to the history of World War II and preceding events. Munich is no exception, on 29 September 2008, the Foreign Intelligence Service announced the lifting of secrecy classification from some diplomatic and intelligence documents dating from that time.
The Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, inhabited mainly by Germans, became the source of a conflict soon after World War I when, with the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the Sudeten Germans tried to unite either with the newly-formed Austrian state or Germany. But, all their protests were crushed by Czechoslovak troops. By 1938, Nazi Germany, which had already annexed Austria by proclaiming the Anschluss, was making preparations to annex the Sudetenland. Although the rights of the Sudeten Germans were never violated by the Czechoslovak government, which took steps to provide school instruction in the German language and gave the Germans parliamentary representation and local government, the tensions continued. Konrad Heinlein’s pro-German party demanded that the Sudetenland be joined to Germany.
On 15 September 1938, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Herr Hitler said he was willing to preserve the peace, but, was ready to fight over the Sudeten issue. As a result, Mr Chamberlain agreed to hand over the Sudetenland to Germany using the principle of national self-determination. By that time, Czechoslovakia had two agreements on friendship and mutual assistance, one with France and another with the Soviet Union. Both provided for assisting Czechoslovakia in case it was subjected to an act of aggression. But, the agreement with the Soviet Union had a proviso; Moscow was to help Czechoslovakia only if Paris did the same. In that way, France, which at the time had the largest army in Europe, exercised the decisive say. In the course of British-French consultations on 18 September in London, the parties agreed that areas where more than half the population was German must become part of Germany, whilst Britain and France would guarantee the new borders of Czechoslovakia.
On 20-21 September, the Czechoslovak government was told that if the British-French proposals were rejected, France would ditch its obligations under its treaty of mutual assistance. At the same time, the Western envoys warned the Czechoslovak leadership against seeking an alliance with the USSR, saying, “If the Czechs joined forces with the Russians, the war might become a crusade against the Bolsheviks. The British and French governments would find it hard to stay aloof”. At the same time, the Soviet Union offered military help to Czechoslovakia, disregarding France’s position, provided Poland let Soviet troops pass through its territory (at the time, the USSR and Czechoslovakia did not have a common border). Still, as declassified documents show, the Czechoslovak government decided to opt for the French and British guarantees and waived Soviet assistance.
Czech Skoda LT38 tank, seen here in German colours, where it served as the PzKw 38 (t); it was the most numerous modern tank in the German inventory in 1939-40. Germany formed three new panzer divisions from its initial booty from Czechoslovakia. Thank you, Chamberlain and Daladier!
On 22 September, Germany issued an ultimatum, demanding that the Sudetenland be joined to it. Czechoslovakia and France declared mobilisation. On 27 September, Chancellor Hitler wrote to Prime Minister Chamberlain to say that he was ready to guarantee the borders of the remaining part of Czechoslovakia and discuss details of an agreement. On 29-30 September 1938 the leaders of Germany, Italy, France, and Britain met in Munich. No Czechoslovak representatives were invited to attend. By 01.00 on 30 September, the sides signed an agreement that, in effect, accepted Germany’s demands. Only then was the Czechoslovak delegation admitted into the conference hall to hear the verdict passed by others. At that point Czechoslovakia had two choices:
- accept the ultimatum on the Sudetenland and give it up
- go to war against Germany
Despite a well-developed munitions industry, an army little short of the German army in size (on mobilisation the Czech army had 36 infantry divisions plus fortress troops in the Sudeten Mountain fortress zone: editor’s note), and armaments of superb quality, the Czechoslovak National Assembly accepted the Munich decisions for implementation.
Germany took possession of the Sudetenland complete with three million people, nearly one-quarter of the population, and 20 percent of Czechoslovak territory, which contained half of the country’s heavy industry. Naturally, history did not end there. Poland stepped forward, claiming its piece of the pie, the return of the Tešin (Cieszyn) region, long a controversial territory. Left out in the cold, Czechoslovakia complied again. Poland, however, did not enjoy its new ownership long, in September 1939, Germany occupied Poland, and, after 1945, Tešin was returned to Czechoslovakia. On 7 October, under German pressure, Prague decided to give autonomy to Slovakia, whilst on 2 November, by decision of the Vienna Arbitration Court, Hungary was given the southern regions of Slovakia and Trans-Carpathian Ukraine (Sub-Carpathian Rus) with the towns of Beregszasz (Beregovo), Munkacz (Mukačevo), and Užgorod.
In March 1939, Germany overran what remained of Czechoslovakia, and made it the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Autonomous Slovakia became a satellite state of the Reich. The arms industry of the former Czechoslovakia spent the war years working for the Wehrmacht, producing hundreds of thousands of small arms, tens of thousands of artillery pieces, and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and self-propelled gun mounts. Czechoslovakia was the last country to be freed from Nazi occupation; it was not until 9 May 1945 that the Red Army captured Prague. Sporadic fighting with separate German units continued until 12 May. The Munich Agreement triggered the largest massacre in human history. As for French and British politicians, they showed an astonishing lack of foresight, for they failed either to pacify Germany, or turn it against the USSR. In the context of today, only one lesson can be drawn from the 1938 events… the best remedy for reining in a real aggressor is not a treaty of guarantee or a ceasefire agreement, but, a peace enforcement operation.
30 September 2008
Ilya Kramnik
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080930/117343007.html (in English)
Editor’s Note:
American poster from World War II. Has the USA forgotten that Russia and America stood together against Hitler’s bloody New World Order?
Russia is warning the West. “Do not interfere in our sphere of influence, or, we shall defend our rights”. That is clear from I am seeing in the Russian press. The West cannot say that no warning was given to them. I note that the Western press is silent on the topic of Munich. Of course, the episode does not reflect well on the so-called “democracies” of the world. The so-called “evil empire” was willing to march in 1938, but, the craven refusal of the West to join it took away the last “best chance” to stop Herr Hitler in his tracks (of course, the “best chance” to have done so was at the time of the re-militarization of the Rhineland in 1936, which was carried out with a handful of battalions that had orders to retreat if the French had even massed upon the border). Indeed, if the Red Army had marched in defence of Czechoslovakia, there was no way that it could have imposed communism upon the country, for the Czech government and its institutions were intact, unlike the situation in 1945, where the RKKA entered a power vacuum.
Note well that the junta of the colonels in Poland stuck a knife in Czechoslovakia’s back… isn’t it like the Georgians today? Plucky little Poland… plucky little Georgia. What bilious rot! Georgia was trying to capture areas the post-Soviet Georgian state never controlled and one must remember the nasty methods of the Georgian forces in the war in the late 80s and 90s. Poland in 1939 was a country riven by disputes between its ethnic minorities. The Jewish minority of 10 percent was loyal to the government, but, the Germans (10 percent) and Ukrainians/Byelorussians (20 percent) were not. That is to say, some 30 percent of the population was not loyal to the Polish government. This is the key to why the Polish state collapsed so quickly in 1939… a significant portion of the people were opposed to the current state of affairs. The post-war Polish state is much more homogenously Polish, for the Jews were murdered by the Nazis, the Germans were thrown out in 1945-46, and the Ukrainian and Byelorussian regions were incorporated into the USSR (and later into its successor states). So, a look at contemporary Poland does not give one a snapshot of pre-war Poland (where only some 60 percent of the population were Catholic Poles).
What is the status of the Sudetenland today? Many of its villages still stand empty, for the Czechs have not forgotten the bitter legacy of 1938. The Germans were expelled in the immediate post-war years, except for those married to Czechs or those necessary to the economy. All others were kicked out, often ruthlessly. It is an episode often hidden by the current Eastern European countries… the expulsion of the ethnic German population, many of whom had lived there for centuries, was one of the barbarities of the 20th century. I do not deny that feelings were running high… I admit, I would have done so myself! However, if one takes a morally-superior position to contemporary Russia, I shall say, and say loudly, that these sorts were just as bad, if not worse, to those they considered “enemies of the state”.
The truth does set one free. When shall America stop listening to the neocon lies? I hope that it shall not require a bloody defeat to do so. May God preserve us all.
