The Takeover of the Rest of Czechoslovakia

1. The Takeover of the Rest of Czechoslovakia March, 1939

2. Hitler continued, even after Munich, to complain about the Czech government’s behaviour. He made many speeches threatening the country, despite the fact that both Britain and France had promised at Munich to protect the remaining parts of the country.

3. In March 1939, Hitler made good his threat and simply sent the German army into Czechoslovakia and captured Prague, which fell without resistance. This lack of resistance was due to • A) Hitler promising to use the Luftwaffe to destroy Prague if surrender didn’t happen • B) it was clear that Britain and France would NOT keep their promise to defend the remainder of the country.

4. Impact and Consequences • Hitler had now taken over a country to which he had NO LEGITIMATE CLAIM. There was NO JUSTIFICATION WHATSOEVER for the absorption of the rest of Czechoslovakia, in that no significant numbers of Germans lived in it. • As a result, Britain and France dropped their policy of appeasement and offered UNCONDITIONAL guarantees of support to Poland, which was clearly Hitler’s next target.

5. Poland was now much more vuLnerable to German attack, since Polish targets were now only 25 minutes’ flying time from Polish industrial centres. Germany now controlled the airspace for Eastern Europe. Poland could now be attacked along a much greater front, with Germany making full use of Czech industry to enhance/strengthen her military forces and plan for a future assault (Operation White).