The Czech Crisis

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The Czech Crisis

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Hitler turned his attention to Czechoslovakia

• He had many reasons to dislike Czechoslovakia
• Many Slavs lived here, they had opposed German
  rule in the old Austrian empire
• They had deserted the Germans in WW1 to fight for
  the Russians

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Why Czechoslovakia?

• Czechoslovakia was the only really democratic
  state created by the hated Versailles settlement
• 3 million Germans lived in the West, Sudetenland,
  including Oskar Schindler
• This area gave the new state a strong natural
  frontier in the form of mountains

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Why Czechoslovakia?

• The Czechs were allied to France and Russia
• The airfields of the Sudetenland could be used as
  bases for allied bomber raids if Czechoslovakia
  remained free
• Although France was not a reliable ally and
  Russia might be reluctant to take on Germany alone

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Sudeten Germans

• Czechoslovakia proved that ethnically different
  people could live together, an idea that was
  anathema to the Nazis
• However the Sudeten Germans had completely failed
  to fit into the new Czechoslavakia

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Sudeten Germans

• Even before Hitler took power in Germany, Nazi
  ideas began to take root among them
• The Nazi movement was led by a power-hungry PE
  teacher called Konrad Henlein

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Sudeten Germans

• Hemleins party won 62 of the Sudeten German
  vote in 1935
• Hitler championed the oppressed minority
• Henlein was told to make demands that the Czechs
  could not meet so Hitler could intervene on the
  pretext of protecting germans

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Mussolinis reaction

• Hitlers championship of German minorities
  worried the Italians since they had South Tyrol
• Mussolini however seemed to accept Hitlers
  guarantees despite the fact the Tyrolese were
  probably the most persecuted German minority

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Operation Green

• Hitler told his generals to draw up a plan code
  named operation green to smash Czechoslovakia
  after a contrived crisis
• On 20th May in response to rumoured German troop
  movement, The Czech army was ordered to mobilise
• Hitler could now accuse the Czechs of threatening
  Germany

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The May Crisis

• Britain and France sent a warning to Germany of
  the dangers of war
• Hitler was surprised at the unity and the outcome
  came to be known as the May Crisis
• Hitler protested that he had no aggressive intent
  towards the Czechs

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The May Crisis

• He was now more determined to crush her prey
• Instead of noting the effect of standing up to
  Hitler the allies blamed Benes, President of
  Czechoslovakia for precipitating an unnecessary
  crisis

Eduard Benes
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Pressure on the Czechs

• Hitler knew that Britain and France were putting
  pressure on the Czechs to make concessions to the
  Sudetens and that Benes must have felt isolated
• Hitler urged Poland and Hungary to take what was
  rightfully theirs Teschen and Slovakia. Hungary
  however was wary of Germany
• Despite the problems, British and the French made
  no effort to include Russia due to
  anti-bolshevism

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Benes agrees to demands

• Henlein was asked to a meeting with Benes who
  agreed to all his 8 demands including home rule
  for Sudetans
• Henlein refused stating that negotiations would
  begin when Czech officials were punished for
  beaten up innocent Germans

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Allies response

• This proved that Sudeten grievances were not the
  real issue
• The Times newspaper in London at this time did
  not help the Czechs as it stated that they should
  be obliged to cede the Sudetenland to Germany

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Cartoon interpretation

• This British cartoon from October 1938 (by Low,
  who hated Nazi Germany) shows Hitler as Santa,
  popping into his sack, one-by-one, little
  countries who had got into bed with the
  French-British family. His sack says
  Deutschland Uber Alles (Germany over all).
• The caption read 'Europe can look forward to a
  Christmas of peace' (Hitler).

Go to http//www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII3.htm
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Allies response

• Daladier the French Prime Minister urged
  Chamberlain to negotiate with hitler
• The British Prime Minister a man of 69 who had
  never flown, crossed Europe on the 15th Sept to
  beg for Peace at Berghof