Germany's Annexation: Austria And Sudetenland's Fate

The annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland by Germany was a result of Hitler's aggressive foreign policy and the appeasement of the Allies. The idea of a Greater Germany had been around since the unification of Germany in 1871, which excluded Austria. This idea gained support after World War I, as the Republic of German-Austria attempted to unite with Germany, but was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint Germain. Hitler, himself an Austrian, shared this desire for unification and, after rising to power, began to act on it. In 1938, he demanded the annexation of the Sudetenland, threatening war if he did not get his way. The British and French, desperate to avoid war, conceded to Hitler's demands in the Munich Agreement. Less than half a year later, Hitler broke the agreement and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Again, the Allies did not respond militarily. This non-response can be attributed to the policy of appeasement, which aimed to avoid war at all costs, as well as the internal problems of the countries involved.

The Munich Agreement

The Sudetenland was a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia, which were inhabited primarily by ethnic Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia since the Middle Ages. The word "Sudetenland" did not come into being until the early part of the 20th century and did not come to prominence until almost two decades into the century, after World War I, when Austria-Hungary was dismembered and the Sudeten Germans found themselves living in the new country of Czechoslovakia.

The Sudeten crisis of 1938 was provoked by the Pan-Germanist demands of Nazi Germany that the Sudetenland be annexed to Germany, which happened after the later Munich Agreement. Part of the borderland was invaded and annexed by Poland. Afterwards, the formerly unrecognized Sudetenland became an administrative division of Germany.

In May 1938 it was known that Hitler and his generals were drawing up a plan for the occupation of Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovaks were relying on military assistance from France, with which they had an alliance. The Soviet Union also had a treaty with Czechoslovakia and indicated its willingness to cooperate with France and Great Britain if they decided to come to Czechoslovakia's defense, but the Soviet Union and its potential services were ignored throughout the crisis.

As Hitler continued to make inflammatory speeches demanding that Germans in Czechoslovakia be reunited with their homeland, war seemed imminent. Neither France nor Britain felt prepared to defend Czechoslovakia, however, and both were anxious to avoid a military confrontation with Germany at almost any cost. In France, the Popular Front government had come to an end, and on April 8, 1938, Édouard Daladier formed a new cabinet without Socialist participation or Communist support. Four days later, a French newspaper published an article by a professor at the Paris Law Faculty, in which he scrutinized the Franco-Czechoslovak treaty of alliance of 1924 and concluded that France was not under obligation to go to war in order to save Czechoslovakia. Earlier, on March 22, The Times of London had stated in a leading article that Great Britain could not undertake a war to preserve Czech sovereignty over the Sudeten Germans without first clearly ascertaining the latter's wishes.

On April 28–29, 1938, Daladier met with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in London to discuss the situation. Chamberlain, unable to see how Hitler could be prevented from destroying Czechoslovakia altogether if such were his intention (which Chamberlain doubted), argued that Prague should be urged to make territorial concessions to Germany. Both the French and British leadership believed that peace could be saved only by the transfer of the Sudeten German areas from Czechoslovakia.

In mid-September Chamberlain offered to go to Hitler’s retreat at Berchtesgaden to discuss the situation personally with the Führer. Hitler agreed to take no military action without further discussion, and Chamberlain agreed to try to persuade his cabinet and the French to accept the results of a plebiscite in the Sudetenland. Daladier and his foreign minister, Georges-Étienne Bonnet, then went to London, where a joint proposal was prepared stipulating that all areas with a population that was more than 50% Sudeten German be turned over to Germany. The Czechoslovaks were not consulted. The Czechoslovak government initially rejected the proposal but was forced to accept it on September 21.

On September 22 Chamberlain again flew to Germany and met Hitler at Bad Godesberg, where he was dismayed to learn that Hitler had stiffened his demands: he now wanted the Sudetenland occupied by the German army and the Czechoslovaks evacuated from the area by September 28. Chamberlain agreed to submit the new proposal to the Czechoslovaks, who rejected it, as did the British cabinet and the French. On the 24th the French ordered a partial mobilization; the Czechoslovaks had ordered a general mobilization one day earlier.

In a last-minute effort to avoid war, Chamberlain proposed that a four-power conference be convened immediately to settle the dispute. Hitler agreed, and on September 29 Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier, and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini met in Munich. The meeting started shortly before 1 pm. Hitler could not conceal his anger that, instead of entering the Sudetenland as a liberator at the head of his army on the day fixed by himself, he had to abide by the three Powers' arbitration, and none of his

The Hossbach Memorandum

Hitler stated that if he died, the contents of the conference were to be regarded as his "political testament". He believed that the economy of Nazi Germany had reached a state of crisis and that the only way to stop a drastic fall in living standards was to embark on a policy of aggression to provide Lebensraum by seizing Austria and Czechoslovakia. Hitler also announced that it was imperative to act in the next five or six years before "two hate-inspired antagonists", Britain and France, closed the gap in the arms race, in which Germany was already falling behind.

Hitler's views on Britain had changed dramatically since 1928. In the Zweites Buch, he saw Britain as a prospective ally, but by 1937, he saw the country as an antagonist that was unwilling and unable to accept a strong Germany. Historians have argued that this marked the beginning of an "ambivalent course" towards Britain.

Hitler also noted that Germany's future was dependent on solving the need for space, which could only be achieved in the foreseeable future of one to three generations. He believed that the only solution was to acquire greater living space, which has historically been the origin of the formation of states and the migration of peoples. Hitler wanted to gain space for agricultural use, and he believed that areas producing raw materials could be more usefully sought in Europe, in immediate proximity to the Reich, rather than overseas.

Hitler also discussed Germany's two "hate-inspired antagonists", Britain and France, who were opposed to any further strengthening of Germany's position. He believed that both countries saw the establishment of German military bases overseas as a threat to their own communications and a safeguarding of German commerce, which would strengthen Germany's position in Europe. He also noted that Germany's problem could only be solved by force, and he identified three 'cases' or 'contingencies' that would trigger war:

• Period 1943-1945: Hitler believed that Germany's relative strength would decrease in relation to the rearmament carried out by the rest of the world. He also mentioned the danger of food crises and the need for foreign exchange. He stated that Germany could not wait any longer to take offensive action.
• Crippling of France by civil war: Hitler believed that if France was crippled by civil war, it would be an ideal time to take action against Czechoslovakia and Austria.
• Case arising from tensions in the Mediterranean: Hitler believed that tensions in the Mediterranean could lead to a war between Italy and France, which would be an opportune time to settle the Czech and Austrian questions.

The Anschluss

The idea of Anschluss was supported by many Austrian citizens, particularly those on the political left and center, who believed that Austria, stripped of its imperial land, was not economically viable. The Nazis also supported the unification, as it was an integral part of their "Heim ins Reich" ("back home to the realm") concept, which aimed to incorporate as many Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans outside Germany) as possible into a "Greater Germany".

In early 1938, Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg announced a referendum on a possible union with Germany, to be held on the 13th of March. Hitler, however, threatened an invasion and pressured Schuschnigg to resign. On the 12th of March, the day before the planned referendum, the German army crossed the border into Austria, unopposed by the Austrian military. A plebiscite was held on the 10th of April, with the ballot not being secret, and threats and coercion employed to manipulate the vote, resulting in 99.7% approval for the Anschluss.

The Sudeten Crisis

Czechoslovakia was led by Edward Benes, who was deeply concerned about Germany's actions after the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into the German Reich. Determined to protect his country, Benes tried to work with Britain and France to ensure their support against German aggression. Hitler used similar tactics to those he had employed in Austria, stirring up trouble for the Czech authorities with the help of local Nazis. Benes received assurances from France, Britain, and the Soviet Union that they would help protect Czechoslovakia if needed. However, Hitler's aggressive stance towards his neighbours was causing concern in Britain and France, and he now had his eyes set on the Sudetenland, which was rich in natural resources necessary for war.

Hitler's first move was to order the Sudeten Nazi Party to demand full autonomy for ethnic Germans from Czech leader Benes, knowing these demands would be refused. He then circulated tales of Czech atrocities against Sudeten Germans and emphasised their desire to be under German rule, to legitimise his annexation of the territory. Hitler sent 750,000 German troops to the Czech border, officially to carry out manoeuvres. This development greatly alarmed the British, who were desperate to avoid another war.

In September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler, who claimed that Germany only wanted those parts of the Sudetenland that spoke German and that they should be able to vote on it. Chamberlain believed this was reasonable and was convinced it would be the end of the matter. However, just days later, Hitler demanded all of the Sudetenland, not just the German-speaking parts, claiming the Czechs were oppressing the Germans and that the Reich should rescue them.

The Czechoslovak capitulation

On the 21st of September 1938, Czechoslovakia capitulated to the demands of the United Kingdom and France, who had themselves accepted the demands of Hitler and Nazi Germany. The Czechoslovak capitulation was the result of a series of events that began with the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia over to Germany. The Sudetenland was a border area of Czechoslovakia containing a majority ethnic German population, as well as all of the Czechoslovak Army's defensive positions in the event of a war with Germany.

The Czechoslovak government had initially resisted conceding to the demands of Hitler and the Sudeten German leader, Konrad Henlein, who was working in conjunction with Hitler. Henlein had issued a set of demands in April 1938, calling for full autonomy for the Sudetenland and the adoption of a pro-German foreign policy by Czechoslovakia. However, the Czechoslovak government eventually acceded to almost all of Henlein's demands in September 1938. Despite this, Hitler was not satisfied and continued to push for the annexation of the Sudetenland.

The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, met with Hitler on the 15th of September 1938 and agreed to the cession of the Sudetenland. Chamberlain then referred the demand to the British and French governments, both of which accepted. The Czechoslovak government resisted, arguing that Hitler's proposal would ruin the nation's economy and ultimately lead to German control of all of Czechoslovakia. However, the United Kingdom and France issued an ultimatum and made a French commitment to Czechoslovakia contingent upon its acceptance. On the 21st of September, Czechoslovakia capitulated.

On the 28th of September, Chamberlain appealed to Hitler for a conference, which was held the following day in Munich with the leaders of France and Italy. The Czechoslovak government was neither invited nor consulted. On the 29th of September, the Munich Agreement was signed, ceding the Sudetenland to Germany. The Czechoslovak government capitulated once again on the 30th of September and agreed to abide by the agreement, despite opposition from the army. The German occupation of the Sudetenland was completed by the 10th of October.

The capitulation of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent occupation of the Sudetenland left the rest of the country with a largely indefensible border. This ultimately led to the invasion and occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia by Germany in March 1939, with the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

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