 |
| After securing Austria for the Reich, Hitler turned his attention to
Czechoslovakia and applied increasing pressure upon that country under the
pretext of rescuing the Sudeten Germans from claimed oppression by the Czech
Government. This aggressive attitude on the part of Hitler culminated in the
Munich Agreement of 29 September 1938, in which Germany and the United Kingdom,
France, and Italy agreed to the occupation of the Sudeten area by German troops
and the determination of its frontiers by an international commission. The
following day, 30 September, Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain signed the
following accord: |
| |
“We have had a further
conversation today and we are agreed in recognizing that the question of
German-English relations is of the highest importance for both countries and
for Europe. We regard the Agreement which was signed last evening and the
German-English Naval Agreement as symbolic of the wish of our two peoples never
again to wage war against each other. We are determined to treat other
questions which concern our two countries also through the method of
consultation and further to endeavor to remove possible causes of difference of
opinion in order thus to contribute towards assuring the peace of Europe.”
|
On 6 December 1938, Georges Bonnet and Joachim von Ribbentrop
signed, as foreign ministers for their respective countries, a Franco-German
Declaration of pacific and neighborly relations. In making this Declaration
public, von Ribbentrop emphasized its contribution to the peaceful relationship
of the two countries.
In the light of history we now know that Hitler
had no intention of stopping with the gains he had made through the Munich
Agreement. He turned his attention to the liquidation of the remainder of
Czechoslovakia. On 14 March 1939, the President and the Foreign Minister of the
Czech Republic met with von Ribbentrop, Goering, and Keitel and other officials
of the Reich. Under threat of invasion and destruction of their country the
Czech officials signed an agreement for the incorporation of the remainder of
Czechoslovakia into the German Reich, and on 16 March 1939 a decree was issued
creating Bohemia and Moravia a Reich protectorate. In order to justify this
move in the minds of the German people, Hitler carried on for some time
systematic propaganda against the Czechs, the foundation of which was, as
usual, the fear of Russia. The Czechs were accused of negotiating with Russia
for the construction and use of airfields and bases on Czech soil. Even in the
presence of these activities, Hitler continued to emphasize his love of peace
and the necessity of providing for the defense of Germany.
In 1939,
Hitler entered into nonaggression pacts with other European states, purporting
to be in furtherance of the maintenance of Peace. There followed the
German-Italian mutual friendship and al- [...liance] |
1105 |
. 
