Lesson 8 - Czechoslovakia

Question 1

Why did Hitler want to take the Sudetenland?

Answer 1

• It would help him achieve his aim of uniting all German speakers as there 3 million native German speakers in the region.

Question 2

How did Hitler justify the invasion of the Sudetenland?

Answer 2

He claimed that Germans were being persecuted by the government and that he needed to step in to protect them.

Question 3

What was the outcome of the Munich Agreement?

Answer 3

• British PM Chamberlain believed that he had saved the day and prevented a war in Europe. He felt that he had gained ‘peace for our time’.
• He agreed to allow Hitler to take the Sudetenland and Hitler stated that he had no further territorial ambitions in Europe.

Question 4

How did Hitler break the Munich Agreement?

Answer 4

He invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939.

Question 5

What were the consequences of the invasion of Czechoslovakia?

Answer 5

For Germany:
- Helped to unify all German speakers.
- Got access to Czech gold.
- Now placed in a good position to invade Poland.

For Britan and France:
- Realisation that Appeasement had failed.
- Decided to protect Polish independence.
- Both nations ramped up their rearmament programmes and began joint military planning.

Despite all this there was a feeling that war would/could be avoided.