With Austria now a firmly integrated part of the German Reich, attention turned to other areas with majority German populations, that were part of other nations. There were several of these, the Austrian lands taken by Italy being one. Another being Alsace-Lorraine, or even Northern Schleswig in Denmark. None of these territories were the ones being looked at by the Weimar Republic's leadership however. Trento and South Tyrol were firmly in Italian control, and Mussolini was at least somewhat friendly with his Germanic neighbors. Northern Schleswig was enjoying special privileges under Danish rule, as the small Kingdom was well aware it stood little to no chance in a war with just about anyone. And of course, Alsace-Lorraine was a pipe-dream, so long as France and Britain were allied and the Royal Navy outnumbered the Reichsmarine.
That left only one region that may possibly join the Republic without a war. A region that had never truly been part of the German Reich, unless one counted the Holy Roman Empire. It had however been part of the Hapsburg Empire, and even territory claimed by German-Austria, upon the formation of that short-lived Republic.
In the city of Munich, this territory would be brought up in the context of returning to Germany.
The region in question was the Sudetenland, a primarily German-populated portion of the new Czechoslovak state. While it was unfair to the Czechs to claim they oppressed the Germans living in the region, the fact did remain that at least a substantial portion of them desired either autonomy or the right to join Germany as Austria had. Weimar made no moves to support these separatist wishes, either officially or unofficially. Hardline nationalists on both sides of the border rallied support and caused trouble for the Czechoslovak government however.
A government that was not the same as the Austrian Republic's. The Czechoslovakians were not going to just roll over and accept the detachment of such an important part of their nation. It was not coincidence that the best mines and industry in the young nation were in the Sudetenland...the Austro-Hungarian Empire had developed that territory accordingly, and considering the German domination of that Empire, it should be little surprise that the best (industrial) land was populated in large part by Germans.
Due in large part to the importance of these lands, the Czechs were highly resistant to the type of referendum that had happened in Austria. There was little doubt that even the less independently minded Sudeten Germans would vote in favor of joining the Reich. And the young nation could ill-afford to lose that territory.
However, the German leadership had to bow to its own people. Regardless of Weimar's own policies, the German people were beginning to support annexing the Sudetenland, due in large part to the
excellent propaganda coming out of the region. There was little doubt to those who cared to look that the Czechoslovaks were not actually oppressing the German population.
Images of the Czechoslovak Army patrolling the Sudetenland did little to allay the fears of the more gullible population however. To the trained eye, it was clear these troops were there to keep order, and make sure Germany did not attempt anything. To the untrained eye, it could appear as if the Czechs and Slovaks were determined to hold onto their land, even if it meant oppressing the people living in it.
This naturally increased the protests, and forced the Coalition to call the meeting in Munich.
The leaders of all the major European powers, with the noticeable exceptions of Poland and Soviet Russia, gathered in Munich for the conference. The biggest players by far were Heuss, Mussolini, and the British Prime Minister, Anthony Eden. The Czechs were represented by their President, Benes, but he had little real say in how the meeting proceeded. Heuss began the meeting by making it clear Germany did not have territorial ambitions on Czechoslovakia. He clarified though, that regardless of this fact, it remained true that the Sudetenland was
wanting to join Germany.
Much as with Austria, should this not have meant that they had the right of self-determination? If the Sudeten Germans
wanted to join Germany, they should be given the option. What was left unsaid, in the interest of peace, was that the self-determination of the Sudeten
Czechs was being ignored. Germany was a more powerful nation than Czechoslovakia, after all.
Mussolini strongly supported this outlook, perhaps hoping that a strong Germany would help his ambitions for a new Rome. Benes and the French President both protested heavily. In the end, the final decision came down on Anthony Eden. The British Prime Minister was a man who had long believed that war should be avoided at all costs. And the fact was, that if the Sudeten Germans did not get their wish, war may very well come.
Knowing this, Eden reluctantly agreed to the terms the German government put forth, given to
them by the leadership of the Sudeten Germans.
However, even as German troops began to march into the Sudetenland, to cheering crowds, Eden met with Benes in private. The British Prime Minister promised his Czech counterpart, that the Germans would go no further. In the so-called 'Munich Declaration', the reluctant British and rather more forceful French agreed to guarantee Czechoslovak independence. If Weimar made any further moves on the new state, they would be forced to go to war with the Entente.
Of course, what Eden didn't realize,
couldn't realize, was that Germany had absolutely no intention of going after the rump of Bohemia. They had guaranteed the security of the wrong nation. For another portion of German territory was still out of their hands...one that the Reich had far more claim to than the Sudetenland...
