Munich Agreement

The Munich Agreement was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland Crisis between the major powers of Europe after a conference held in Munich in Germany in 1938 and signed on September 29. The Sudetenland is a strategically important region of Czechoslovakia. The Skoda Works, a huge armament facility, were situated there. It had over 2.5 million speaking German inhabitants, and according to the Versailles treaty`s rule of National Self Determination, should be under German leadership. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of Czechoslovakia and it ended up surrendering much of that state to Nazi Germany. It stands as a major example of appeasement. Because Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference, the Munich Agreement is commonly called the Munich Dictate by the Czechs. The phrase Munich betrayal is also frequently used, especially because of the military alliances between Czechoslovakia and France and between France and Britain, that were not taken into account.

External link

• The Munich Agreement - Text of the Munich Agreement on-line
• British Pathe newsreel (includes Chamberlain's speech at Heston aerodrome)