Benes ⇒ was prepared to fight ⇒ because he had a modern army and the support of Britain and France. Neither Hitler nor Benes ⇒ backed down ⇒ and most people believed that the likelihood of war was high British > prepared for the war by digging air raid shelters
Magazines ⇒ carried advertisements ⇒ for air raid protection and gas masks Cards⇒ carried instructions about how people could protect themselves from air raids.
By mid September⇒ situation had reached crisis point Chamberlain ⇒ made one last effort to avoid war in Czechoslovakia
Sequence of events leading to the signing of the Munich Agreement
| Date | Elaboration |
|---|---|
| 15 September | Chamberlain ⇒ flew to meet Hitler in Bavaria⇒ Germany. → Hitler moderated his demands → stating that he would claim parts of Sudetenland ⇒ with a majority of Germans. Chamberlain ⇒ was convinced that Hitler would be satisfied with his demands. |
| 19 September | Britain and France ⇒ convinced Czechoslovakia to surrender ⇒ parts of Sudetenland Hitler wanted |
| 22 September | Hitler ⇒ increased his demands + wanted whole of Sudetenland → he claimed that he needed to rescue ⇒ Sudeten Germans ⇒ who were being poorly treated by the Czechoslovak govt. → Chamberlain ⇒ told Hitler his demands ⇒ were unreasonable ⇒ and requested a conference with Hitler. |
| 29 September | Leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Germany ⇒ met in Munich for a 4-power summit. ⇒ they decided to give in to Hitler’s demands ⇒ without consulting Czechoslovakia or USSR. ⇒ they agreed that the whole of Sudetenland → would be given to Germany ⇒ in exchange for a pledge of peace from Hitler → known as Munich agreement. |
| 30 September | Next Morning ⇒ Chamberlain and Hitler ⇒ published a joint declaration ⇒ in which Chamberlain ⇒ claimed that the Agreement would bring “peace for our time” |