Munich Argeement

in's policy which would come later, the majority of the opinions expressed in the printed media at the time advocated appeasement. They wanted the preservation of peace at any cost-- a war would have meant the destruction of civilization and the world as they knew it. They felt that risking a war to protect Czechoslovakia was not worth it.

After the Munich Agreement, the press viewed Chamberlain as a hero upon returning with the four-power agreement and the Anglo-German declaration reaffirming “the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again.” The British were thankful that bombs were not falling on their houses and all their pent-up relief went out to Mr. Chamberlain personally as if he alone had spared them. In an article printed in the New York Times on October 1st a headline read, “Chamberlain is Confident – The settlement of the Czechoslovak problem, which has now been achieved, is only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all Europe may find peace. ” As many people gathered outside his home in London he and his wife came to the door where he said to the public cheerfully, “I think you can all go home and sleep quietly tonight, it will be alright now. ” At the time those would have been comforting words, hiding the true irony that can only be appreciated some years later. It had appeared that Chamberlain prevented war, but in reality he’d only postponed it.

In mid September, British Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler at Berchtesgaden where Hitler stated his demand for the annexation of the Sudetenland. Chamberlain was willing to accept the proposal and argued that the only alternative was war, and there was no point in fighting over an issue that could be settled diplomatically. Britain and France urged the Czech government to accept, and on September 21st, under the imminent threat of losing French and British support, the Czech government agreed. A second meeting took place in Godesberg on September 22-23, 1938. Chamberlain had what he felt was an acceptable proposal but was shocked to find Hitler now demanding the immediate German military occupation of the Sudetenland. Chamberlain insisted that the issue must be settled without violence and, at this apparent impasse, Chamberlain returned to Britain. Chamberlain sought to find a middle ground and decided to set up a delegation of Czechs, Germans, and British to decide the fate of the Sudeten Germans. If Hitler refused, Chamberlain would retaliate with the threat of war by France, Britain and Czechoslovakia.

In response to representations by

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