Nazi Germany 1933 to 1939

Nazis Take Czechoslovakia

Shortly after he signed the Munich Agreement in September 1938, Adolf Hitler privately complained to members of his SS bodyguard, "That fellow Chamberlain spoiled my entrance into Prague."

Hitler originally wanted to smash Czechoslovakia via a lighting military strike and then make a Caesar-like entry into the old capital city. But he had been overwhelmed by the eagerness of England and France to serve Czechoslovakia to him "on a plate."

For Hitler, the Munich Agreement was nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. On October 21, 1938, just three weeks after signing the document, he informed his generals that they should begin planning for "the liquidation of the remainder of Czechoslovakia."

Hitler had promised British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the German people that the Sudetenland would be his "last territorial demand" in Europe. In reality, it was only the beginning. And Hitler now wanted to grab the remainder of Czechoslovakia due to its strategic importance.

By now, the Nazis had perfected the art of stealing neighboring territory. They would start by encouraging political unrest inside the area. At the same time, they would wage a propaganda campaign citing real or imagined wrongs committed against local Germans. When neighboring political leaders finally came to see to Hitler to resolve the ongoing crisis, they would be offered help in the form of a German Army occupation to "restore order."

The new political leader of Czechoslovakia was 66-year-old Dr. Emil Hácha, an inexperienced politician with a bad heart condition. He had replaced Czech President Eduard Bene? who fled to England after the Munich Agreement fearing assassination by the Nazis. Hácha now presided over an ever-shrinking republic. By early 1939, two outlying border areas had already been seized by Poland and Hungary with Hitler's approval.

At Hitler's instruction, nationalist Slovaks living in the eastern portion of Czechoslovakia began agitating for a completely independent state, which would take another huge chunk out of Czechoslovakia. On March 10, 1939, President Hácha responded to the Slovak demand for independence by ousting the leaders of the Slovak government and declaring martial law inside the province of Slovakia.

Hácha's unexpected and defiant action took the Nazis by surprise, upsetting their carefully laid plans. Hitler reacted to this turn of events just as he had when Schuschnigg took a defiant stance in Austria - he ordered his generals to prepare for an immediate invasion.

Meanwhile, the pro-German Slovak leader, Monsignor Tiso, was summoned to Berlin to see Hitler. Tiso arrived at the Chancellery on Monday evening, March 13, and was told by Hitler that the situation in Czechoslovakia had become "impossible." Time was running out said Hitler. Tiso had to decide right then and there whether Slovakia wanted to break off from Czechoslovakia and become an independent country. Hitler promised Tiso that he would protect Slovakia after its independence was proclaimed.

Tiso hesitated briefly then decided to go along with Hitler. The Nazis then drafted a proclamation of independence for Tiso to use, along with a phony telegram to be sent later containing an appeal for the Führer's protection.

The following day, Tuesday, March 14, Tiso returned home and presented the independence proclamation to Slovakia's parliament. He told the assembly that if they failed to approve this proclamation, Hitler's troops would simply march in and take Slovakia. Faced with this prospect, the Slovak assembly gave in and voted with Tiso. Thus the independent country of Slovakia was born.

Now, all that remained of shrunken Czechoslovakia were the two central provinces of Bohemia and Moravia. At this point, Goebbels' propaganda machine went into high gear spreading reports of alleged persecution of local Germans there by Czechs. Out of convenience, or perhaps out of laziness, Goebbels' propaganda people used the same fake newspaper stories they had printed six months earlier concerning the Czech "reign of terror" in the Sudetenland.

President Hácha, bewildered by all that was happening to Czechoslovakia, sent a message to Hitler asking for a face-to-face meeting to resolve the ongoing crisis. Hitler, of course, agreed to see him as soon as possible.

Hácha was unable to fly due to his heart condition and arrived by train in Berlin at 10:40 p.m. on Tuesday evening. He was met by Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and taken to the Aldon Hotel to await Hitler's call.

Nearly three hours later, at 1:15 a.m., Hácha was finally summoned to the Reich Chancellery to see the Führer. At this meeting, Hitler let the Czech president speak first and for as long as he wanted. President Hácha proceeded to humble himself unabashedly in the presence of the all-powerful German dictator. He disavowed any link with the previous democratic government in Czechoslovakia and promised to work toward eliminating any anti-German sentiment among his people. He then pleaded for mercy on behalf of his little country.

But Hácha's pitiful pleading brought out the worst in Hitler, a man who had utter contempt for human weakness. When Hácha finished his monologue, Hitler launched into a blistering attack, citing all of the alleged wrongs committed by Czechs against Germans.

Working himself into a self-induced state of rage, Hitler hollered out that his patience with Czechoslovakia had ended, and that the German Army was about to invade the country, beginning in just a few hours.

Now, the Führer bellowed, the Czech people had two options. They could offer futile resistance and be violently crushed, or, the president could sign a document telling his countrymen to peacefully receive the incoming troops. The president had to decide soon. The troops would march in regardless beginning at 6 a.m. that morning.

President Hácha, taken completely by surprise, was at first too shocked to respond and just sat there as if he had turned to stone. Hitler was done with him for the time being and sent him into an adjoining room for further discussions with Göring and Ribbentrop.

The two Nazis immediately pounced on the sickly president, badgering him into signing the surrender document which was placed on the table before him. But Hácha, after regaining his composure, refused outright. The Nazis insisted again, even pushing a pen at him. He refused again. Now, Göring played his trump card. He told the Czech president that unless he signed, half of Prague would be bombed to ruins within two hours by the German Air Force. Upon hearing this, the frail president collapsed onto the floor.

The Nazis panicked, thinking they had killed the man with fright. Hitler's personal physician, Dr. Theodor Morell, was rushed in and injected the president with vitamins to revive him. When Hácha recovered his senses, the Nazis stuck a telephone in his hands, connecting him with his government back in Prague. Hácha spoke into the telephone and reluctantly advised his government to surrender peacefully to the Nazis.

After this, Hácha was ushered back into Hitler's presence. At 3:55 a.m., Wednesday, March 15, the Czech president signed the document stating he had "confidently placed the fate of the Czech people and country in the hands of the Führer of the German Reich."

Two hours later, amid a late winter snowstorm, the German Army rolled into the first non-Germanic territory to be taken by the Nazis.

"Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist!" Hitler announced to the German people later that day, just before departing for Prague. That evening, Hitler made his long-awaited entry into the grand old city at the head of ten vehicle convoy. But there were no cheering crowds. The streets of Prague were deserted.

Hitler spent the night in Prague's Hradschin Castle, former home to the Kings of Bohemia. The next day, Thursday, March 16, from inside the castle, Hitler issued a proclamation establishing the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. "Czechoslovakia," Hitler declared, "showed its inherent inability to survive and has therefore now fallen victim to actual dissolution."

That same day, Tiso sent his pre-arraigned telegram from Slovakia urgently requesting the Führer's protection. The two-day-old independent country of Slovakia thus ceased to exist as the German Army rolled in, supposedly at the request of the Slovaks themselves.

At this point, the whole world waited to see how Prime Minister Chamberlain would react to the incredible happenings in Czechoslovakia, all of which were gross violations of the Munich Agreement.

Chamberlain responded to Hitler's aggression by claiming the British were not bound to protect Czechoslovakia since the country in effect no longer existed after Slovakia had voted for independence on March 14. And Hitler's actions had occurred the next day, March 15.

The Prime Minister's willy-nilly statement caused an uproar in the British press and in the House of Commons. Chamberlain was lambasted over his lack of moral outrage concerning Hitler's gangster diplomacy. Angry members of the House of Commons vowed that England would never again appease Hitler.

Interestingly, while traveling on a train from London to Birmingham on Friday, March 17, Chamberlain underwent a complete change of heart. He had in his hand a prepared speech discussing routine domestic matters that he was supposed to give in Birmingham. But upon deep reflection, he decided to junk the speech and outlined a brand new one concerning Hitler.

In the new speech, which was broadcast throughout England on radio, Chamberlain first apologized for his lukewarm reaction to Hitler's recent actions in Czechoslovakia. Then he recited a list of broken promises made by Hitler dating back to the Munich Agreement.

"The Führer," Chamberlain asserted, "has taken the law into his own hands."

"Now we are told that this seizure of territory has been necessitated by disturbances in Czechoslovakia...If there were disorders, were they not fomented from without?"

"Is this the last attack upon a small state or is it to be followed by others? Is this, in effect, a step in the direction of an attempt to dominate the world by force?"

If so, Chamberlain declared: "No greater mistake could be made than to suppose that because it believes war to be a senseless and cruel thing, this nation has so lost its fiber that it will not take part to the utmost of its power in resisting such a challenge if it ever were made."

Now, for the first time in the history of the Third Reich, England had finally declared it would stand up to the German dictator and was willing to fight.

The next day, March 18, British diplomats informed the Nazis that Hitler's occupation of Czechoslovakia was "a complete repudiation of the Munich Agreement...devoid of any basis of legality." The French also lodged a strong protest saying they "would not recognize the legality of the German occupation."

However, Hitler and the Nazis could care less what they thought. Hitler had seen his "enemies" at Munich and considered them to be little worms.

But now, in an ominous development for Hitler, Britain and France went beyond mere diplomatic protests. On March 31, Prime Minister Chamberlain issued a solid declaration, with the backing of France, guaranteeing Hitler's next likely victim, Poland, from Nazi aggression.

The era of Hitler's bloodless conquests had ended. The next time German troops rolled into foreign territory there would be an actual shooting war.

It had been only six months since the Munich Agreement and there were only about six months left until the outbreak of World War II. During these months, the various countries of Europe formed military alliances, choosing up sides like schoolboys preparing for a game of football - France with England and Poland, Italy with Germany and so forth. No one, however, could figure out what the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin would do.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

By the beginning of 1939, Adolf Hitler had become so bold that he tried to steal two separate neighboring territories at the same time. While he was focusing on taking Czechoslovakia, he was also pressuring Poland to give him the former German city of Danzig located on the Baltic Sea. And he wanted the Poles to permit construction of a new super highway and railroad stretching from Germany through Polish territory into East Prussia.

The territory in question was known as the Polish Corridor, a narrow strip of land which gave Poland access to the sea and cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany. Poland had been granted this sea corridor after World War I by the Treaty of Versailles, which also designated Danzig as a Free City operating under the supervision of the League of Nations.

All of this, of course, was completely unacceptable to Hitler and to most Germans but they never had the power to do anything about it - until now.

Making matters worse, Poland's military leaders had connived with Hitler to steal a small piece of Czechoslovakia back in October 1938. Thus they were more susceptible to being pressured by the Nazis into some kind of agreement concerning Danzig and the Polish Corridor.

Hitler and Nazi Foreign Minister Ribbentrop held several meetings with Poland's Ambassador to Germany, Josef Lipski, and with the Polish Foreign Minister, Józef Beck. But the Poles said they had absolutely no interest in compromising with Hitler and bluntly informed the Nazis in late November 1938 that any attempt by Germany to grab Danzig "must inevitably lead to conflict."

Thus far, all of Hitler's conquests had resulted from his successful use of gangster diplomacy. But now, for the first time in his career, Hitler had encountered an opponent that would not give in. Hitler responded to Poland's defiance by ordering his generals to prepare to take Danzig "by surprise."

Meanwhile, Hitler had managed to annex what remained of Czechoslovakia. But it had been a costly move on his part. Outraged public opinion in England resulted in a tough stance taken by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and a firm declaration on March 31, 1939, that Britain, with the backing of France, would fight to save Poland.

Things were not going so easily for Hitler anymore. When he heard about Chamberlain's guarantee to Poland, he flew into a rage and shouted against the British: "I'll cook them a stew they'll choke on!"

That stew would be World War II and was now only a matter of months away. Thus the time had come for the major powers in Europe and elsewhere to pick sides. England and France were already aligned with Poland. It could also be assumed that the United States would side with England at some future point.

Germany's main friend in Europe, Fascist Italy, had been strangely silent up to this point. The Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, had been hemming and hawing for about a year as to whether he would actually take the plunge and formally link his country's future with Nazi Germany. Mussolini hesitated with good reason. During several visits with top Nazis he had listened to their reckless bragging about the coming war in Europe and Germany's sure victory.

Mussolini was not at all opposed to the use of military force. However, he preferred to choose his targets carefully, preferably defenseless little countries such as Ethiopia and Albania, both of which he had occupied. But a European war against the major powers was another story. Mussolini's army was simply not ready for such a war.

The Italians were also taken aback by the Nazis total disregard for the death and suffering a new world war would bring. Mussolini differed greatly from Hitler in that he did not posses the same murderous mentality as the Führer. Hitler did not value human life. Mussolini, although he was a belligerent bully and opportunist, did value life.

Interestingly, Mussolini seems to have made his final decision to ally with Hitler almost on the spur of the moment. On May 6, 1939, Nazi Foreign Minister Ribbentrop met in Milan, Italy, with Mussolini's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano, who functioned as Italy's Foreign Minister. Count Ciano hoped to impress upon the Nazis that Italy wished to delay the onset of war for at least three years. Ribbentrop greatly surprised Ciano by saying that Nazi Germany also wanted to delay things for another three years.

Later that evening, Mussolini telephoned Ciano for a report on the discussions and was informed the talks had gone very well indeed. Upon hearing this, Mussolini instructed his son-in-law to announce to the press that Italy and Germany had concluded an actual military alliance. Ciano then informed Ribbentrop of Mussolini's remarkable request. Ribbentrop, naturally, had to talk to his Führer before he would agree to anything. He telephoned Hitler who immediately approved the announcement.

Tragically for Italy, Mussolini and his son-in-law had completely misjudged the whole situation. By this time, Hitler had already issued secret orders to his generals to be ready to invade Poland by September 1st. The Germans were deliberately keeping the Italians in the dark as to their true intentions. The military "Pact of Steel" subsequently signed by Italy and Germany would later have disastrous consequences for the Italian people as they were drawn into Hitler's war.

While all of these developments were occurring, the Soviet Union was feeling quite left out of the whole diplomatic scenario. The Soviets voiced their dissatisfaction in a series of speeches originating from Moscow but geared toward Western ears. In March 1939, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gave a cynical speech describing the Munich Agreement and subsequent concessions made by Britain as an attempt to push Germany further eastward, perhaps into a war with the Soviet Union. Stalin warned the Western Allies that he would not allow the Soviet Union to be manipulated into a solo war against Nazi Germany while the West just stood by and watched.

In May 1939, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov gave a speech hinting that the Western Allies should get busy and talk to Moscow soon or there might be some kind of agreement forthcoming between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

However, Prime Minister Chamberlain, leader of the Western Allies, was in no hurry to talk to the Soviets. He simply did not believe in the value of a military alliance with Soviet Russia. In a private letter he even asserted: "I have no belief whatever in her ability to maintain an effective offensive, even if she wanted to. And I distrust her motives..."

Chamberlain was not alone in his distrust. The Poles actually hated the Soviets, knowing that Stalin would not hesitate to gobble up Poland if he had the chance. As a result, Poland, along with Britain, had thus far refused all Soviet offers to discuss joint military action in the event of further Nazi aggression. This rejection encouraged Stalin to negotiate with the Nazis.

Although Hitler had repeatedly professed his own hatred of the Communists, he decided to pursue a non-aggression pact with Stalin to avoid the possibility of having to fight a war on two fronts at the same time.

Hitler's master plan was to crush Poland with lightning speed, then turn westward and knock out France and England. It was therefore necessary for the Soviet Union to remain neutral, otherwise Germany might have to fight the Allies in the west and the Russians in the east.

After the Western Allies were knocked out, Hitler intended to turn his armies eastward and wage his long-awaited battle for Lebensraum against Stalin's Red Army.

Hitler, just like the Western Allies, had a low opinion of the Red Army's potential and also badly underestimated Joseph Stalin, one of the most ruthless humans who ever lived.

Stalin, like Hitler, did not value human life. By this time in Soviet history, Stalin already had experience in committing mass murder and had his own well-developed system of concentration camps. Stalin would kill anyone for any reason. The slightest suspicion, real or imagined, was enough to make a person vanish without a trace inside the Soviet terror state he created.

But now, through a quirk of fate, Stalin suddenly became the man of the hour in Europe. When the British finally realized there was a good possibility he might side with the Nazis, they put aside their own reservations about the man and pursued an alliance.

When the Nazis realized the British were seeking an alliance, they intensified their own efforts. Thus, as the summer of 1939 arrived, a strange kind of competition sprang up between the British and the Germans as to who would succeed in getting the Soviet leader to sign on the dotted line.

The biggest hurdle facing the British was that Poland refused outright to allow any Soviet troops onto its soil under any conditions, even if the country was being invaded by Hitler. This, of course, made it nearly impossible to conclude a military pact with the Soviets.

In addition to this, Chamberlain made a series of diplomatic blunders that allowed Hitler and Ribbentrop to gain momentum. Chamberlain's negotiators didn't even arrive in Moscow until August 11. By that time, the Nazis had been hard at work laying the groundwork for a Nazi-Soviet pact.

Making matters worse for the British, the Soviets were insulted that Chamberlain sent second-rank British military officers to Moscow on such an important mission. Chamberlain also instructed his negotiators not to rush into anything at first, thus they moved at a snail's pace during the initial discussions, frustrating the Soviets. The British also declined to share any military intelligence with the Soviets, further insulting them.

All of these complications served to convince Stalin that Poland and its Western Allies were not serious in seeking a military alliance against Hitler.

Stalin had no qualms about negotiating with Hitler, if it was in the best interest of the Soviet Union to do so. Hitler, of course, had every reason to negotiate with Stalin. It was now mid-August and his planned invasion of Poland was just a few weeks away.

Germany's ambassador in Moscow, Count Schulenburg, pushed hard to get the whole process rolling and was authorized by Berlin to say yes to every Soviet demand. The Soviets responded kindly to this and on August 16 sent the first word back to Berlin that a non-aggression pact might indeed be forthcoming. They even took the time to provide a first draft of just such a pact.

As the days of August ticked by and September grew ever-closer, Hitler and Ribbentrop became frantically determined to get the pact finalized and signed. On August 20, Hitler sent a personal message to Stalin stating that "a crisis may arise any day" between Germany and Poland and therefore the Soviet leader should receive Ribbentrop in Moscow "at the latest on Wednesday, August 23."

Once again the Soviets responded kindly and agreed to see Ribbentrop on the 23rd to seal the actual agreement. The two Foreign Ministers, Ribbentrop and Molotov, thus signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in a ceremony at the Kremlin building attended by Stalin himself.

Hitler had now gotten what he wanted. He would not have to fight a war on two fronts. And Stalin got what he wanted. According to a secret protocol attached to the pact, Stalin was granted a free hand in Eastern Europe to steal back several areas lost to Russia at the end of World War I, including the countries of Latvia, Estonia and Finland, the province of Bessarabia in Romania, and most importantly, the entire eastern portion of Poland.

Hitler was quite willing to be this generous to Stalin, knowing all along that he intended to destroy the Soviet Union in the not-too-distant future.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact sealed the fate of Poland, a country that was geographically isolated from its Western Allies, thus making direct military aid nearly impossible. Poland's only hope for survival would have been an alliance with its next door neighbor, the Soviets.

The news that these two cynical, ruthless men, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, had made a pact with each other, shocked the world. Everyone knew what it meant - that a new world war was all but certain now. All that remained was for the Führer to say when.