What Was the Munich Conference?
The Munich Conference, held in September 1938, resulted in an agreement signed by Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany that ceded the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany. The resolution was signed in an attempt to avoid war. However, Hitler continued to invade territories after the Munich Conference which ultimately led to the outbreak of World War II.
Prior to the Munich Conference, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler privately at Berchtesgaden, the dictator’s mountaintop retreat, in an attempt to convince him not to invade the Sudetenland.
Hitler successfully convinced Chamberlain that his territorial demands were not unreasonable. Chamberlain persuaded his Cabinet as well as the French to join him in pressuring Czechoslovakia to submit to Hitler’s demands.
On September 29,1938, Chamberlain, Hitler, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier gathered at the Munich Conference to discuss Hitler’s demands and attempt to reach an agreement that would prevent Germany from invading additional territory. Ultimately, they agreed to cede the Sudetenland to Germany and in exchange, Hitler agreed not to invade any other territories.
Hitler did not stick to his word and invaded Poland a year later. Chamberlain was embarrassed when he had to announce that a “state of war” existed between Germany and Britain. This destroyed his credibility with Parliament. He was replaced by Winston Churchill shortly thereafter.
