Munich: Czechoslovakia’s borderlands are ceded
Story period: September–October 1938
Location: Munich, Germany
Germany, Britain, France and Italy agreed in Munich that Czechoslovakia would lose the Sudeten borderlands to Germany. Czechoslovakia accepted the settlement on 30 September 1938. German occupation followed in October, weakening a country whose fate had been negotiated by other powers.
An agreement over Czechoslovak territory
29–30 September 1938
Four powers determined a territorial transfer.
The agreement dated 29 September was concluded by Germany, Britain, France and Italy. The Czechoslovak government accepted it the following day. Neville Chamberlain represented Britain; Benito Mussolini represented Italy.
Britain’s policy of appeasement sought to avoid war through concessions. The outcome was not a mutual adjustment of these four powers’ own borders: it required Czechoslovakia to surrender territory.
The agreement becomes an occupation
1–10 October 1938
Losing territory also meant losing defensive positions.
A contemporary diplomatic report set out the timetable: evacuation and German occupation would begin on 1 October and finish on 10 October. President Edvard Beneš also feared losing defensive positions in the borderlands.
The settlement did not halt German expansion. German forces occupied Prague in March 1939. Reading the two episodes together explains how the territorial crisis of 1938 led into the destruction of the remaining Czech statehood.
The city marker provides orientation in Munich. It does not identify an exact negotiating room or the boundaries of the transferred territory.
Explore further
- Prague: occupation begins
Further German expansion after Munich brought the occupation of Prague.