Prelude to War

Hindsight is not necessary to inferring injustice in the decisions made in the Munich Conference. What struck me the most about the Munich Pact was that the very country being argued over, Czechoslovakia, had no representation in the deliberations. The conference itself was held between only the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, and Italy. As Dorothy Thompson stated in her broadcast, "Czechoslovakia was disposed of by four men who in four hours made a judgment of the case in which the defendant was not even allowed to present a brief or be heard." This put me in mind of the Berlin conference of 1884-1885 where Europeans divided the Congo amongst them; except, the Munich Pact was not even equal to those dividing the country (since all the spoils go to Germany) AND this time, Europeans were doing it to one of their own. To lather the wound with salt, the demands of this treaty pushed the Czechoslovakians out of their country without consideration. Only ten days were given for the people to remove from their own country without protest or rebellion. Those of German descent, however, were allowed to remain, thus filtering the jewels from dirt (I speak only their thoughts, not my own).
Now, the fact of Czechoslovakian occupation is for us a clear indication of further conquests to come, and Thompson's words on the treaty ("armistice made in advance of a war ") prove that this possibility was foreseeable from that time. The very principles of fascism require almost constant military action and expansion. Knowing this, as politicians of the time must have (Germany and Italy were open about fascism), giving into their demands hardly seems the best thing to do. Hopefully, this was realized soon after the mistake was made, when Germany siezed the rest of Czechoslovakia in March of 1939.