While perhaps not directly relevant to the subject matter of this book, the Munich Agreement held more importance for Hitler than might be considered at a glance. Firstly, there was the fact that the negotiations were held and concluded in Munich, the city where the Führer’s political career as a beer-hall agitator had begun, and almost ended. Secondly, it allowed Hitler to dictate the terms of the agreement to Germany’s old adversaries and the dictators of the Versailles Treaty; France and England.
The Munich Agreement was probably the Führer’s greatest, single diplomatic success; if a bitter-sweet victory for Hitler on a personal level. Through skilful manipulation of all parties concerned he had achieved exactly what he had set out to do, and yet, he had been denied the one thing he really wanted; the military conquest of Czechoslovakia. Hermann Göring, to his credit, did everything possible to facilitate and bring about the conference. His efforts should not be disregarded or underestimated. Had Göring not taken the lead in this regard, ‘Case Green’, the German plan for the attack on Czechoslovakia would have gone ahead on 1 October 1938 at the risk of a European war. The Führer stated that the return of the Sudetenland, formerly Austrian territory ceded after the First World War and home to some three million ethnic Germans, would bring about an end to Germany’s territorial demands in Europe. Britain and France were inclined to believe him. British Prime Minster Chamberlain, in particular, worked extremely hard to persuade the Czech government to accept Hitler’s demands. In the end the Czechs had to comply.
The following postcards are a fascinating visual record of the event that took place in the Führer House (already observed in postcard number 26) on Munich’s Königsplatz on 29/30 September 1938. In the final analysis, the Munich Agreement permitted German forces unhindered entry and occupation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia; this was carried out peacefully and as scheduled the following day, 1 October 1938. Hitler had seen the weakness of the British and the French for himself during the negotiations in Munich; the results of these observations would soon be felt throughout Europe, and beyond. Having acquired the Sudetenland, a somewhat frustrated Hitler would have to wait almost another six months before bringing about circumstances whereby German forces could occupy the remainder of Czechoslovakia to create the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.