Munich Agreement Definition

The Munich Agreement gave Hitler's Germany control of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.

The Munich Agreement---a four-part deal between Germany, France, Italy and Britain---gave Germany the rights to the Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in exchange for Adolf Hitler's promise to not invade any other European lands.

The Players

On September 29, 1938, the Munich Agreement was authorized and signed by Germany's Hitler, Italy's Benito Mussolini, Britain's Neville Chamberlain and France's Edouard Daladier. The document, which gave Hitler all of the Sudetenland, was criticized by such world leaders as British Home Secretary Winston Churchill and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden. They saw the deal as dishonorable and deplored the fact that it would alienate the Czech army.

The Sudetenland

According to the Munich Agreement, Hitler's control of the Sudetenland would begin just days after the signing, as evacuation procedures were set to begin on Oct. 1 and be completed by Oct. 10, 1938. The Czech army would be responsible for organizing the evacuation, and German troops were given authority to occupy the territory during the takeover.

Munich Disagreement

The Munich Agreement was broken by Hitler in March 1939, just six months after it was signed, when he ordered his troops into the remainder of Czechoslovakia and seized the territory.

References

• Spartacus Educational: Munich Agreement
• The Avalon Project: Munich Pact