Editing Munich Agreement (section)

===== Germany =====
Though the British and French were pleased, a British diplomat in Berlin claimed he had been informed by a member of Hitler's entourage that soon after the meeting with Chamberlain, Hitler had furiously said: "Gentlemen, this has been my first international conference and I can assure you that it will be my last."{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|1959|p=135}} On another occasion, he had been heard saying of Chamberlain: "If ever that silly old man comes interfering here again with his umbrella, I'll kick him downstairs and jump on his stomach in front of the photographers."{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|1959|p=135}}<ref name="Overy">[[Richard Overy]], 'Germany, "Domestic Crisis" and War in 1939', ''Past & Present'' No. 116 (Aug., 1987), p. 163, n. 74.</ref><ref>Robert Rothschild, ''Peace For Our Time'' (Brassey's Defence Publishers, 1988), p. 279.</ref> In one of his public speeches after Munich, Hitler declared: "Thank God we have no umbrella politicians in this country."{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|1959|p=135}}<ref name="Overy" /><ref>Roger Parkinson, ''Peace For Our Time: Munich to Dunkirk{{snd}}The Inside Story'' (London: Hart-Davis, 1971), p. 78.</ref>
[[File:Adolf Hitler in Neustadt.jpg|thumb|Hitler welcomed in Neustadt (now [[Prudnik]]) while visiting the Sudeten territories]]
Hitler felt cheated of the limited war against the Czechs which he had been aiming for all summer.<ref>Ian Kershaw, ''Hitler, 1936–1945: Nemesis'' (London: Penguin, 2001), pp. 122–123.</ref> In early October, Chamberlain's press secretary asked for a public declaration of German friendship with Britain to strengthen Chamberlain's domestic position; Hitler instead delivered speeches denouncing Chamberlain's "governessy interference."<ref>Robert Self, ''Neville Chamberlain'' (London: Routledge, 2006), p. 344.</ref> In August 1939, shortly before the invasion of Poland, Hitler told his generals: "Our enemies are men below average, not men of action, not masters. They are little worms. I saw them at Munich."<ref>John W. Wheeler-Bennett, ''The Nemesis of Power: The German Army in Politics 1918–1945'' (London: Macmillan, 1964), p. 447.</ref>

Before the Munich Agreement, Hitler's determination to invade Czechoslovakia on 1 October 1938 had provoked a major crisis in the German command structure. The Chief of the General Staff, General Ludwig Beck, protested in a lengthy series of memos that it would start a [[world war]] that Germany would lose, and urged Hitler to put off the projected conflict. Hitler called Beck's arguments against war "''kindische Kräfteberechnungen''" ("childish force calculations"). On 4 August 1938, a secret Army meeting was held. Beck read his lengthy report to the assembled officers. They all agreed something had to be done to prevent certain disaster. Beck hoped they would all resign together but no one resigned except Beck. His replacement, General [[Franz Halder]], sympathized with Beck and they were both recruited into [[Hans Oster]]'s [[Oster conspiracy|September Conspiracy]] which planned to arrest Hitler the moment he gave the invasion order. 

This plan would only work if Britain issued a strong warning and a letter to the effect that they would fight to preserve Czechoslovakia. This would help to convince the German people that certain defeat awaited Germany. Agents were therefore sent to England to tell Chamberlain that an attack on Czechoslovakia was planned, and of their intention to overthrow Hitler if this occurred. The proposal was rejected by the British Cabinet and no such letter was issued. Accordingly, the proposed removal of Hitler did not go ahead.{{sfn|Parssinen|2004}}

On 7 October 1938, Hitler visited the Sudeten territories. He arrived by train in Neustadt (now [[Prudnik]], Poland), a town right next to the former Czechoslovak border, and then travelled to [[Město Albrechtice]], [[Krnov]], [[Bruntál]], and [[Zlaté Hory]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dereń |first=Andrzej |date=November 2000 |title=Swastyka nad miastem |url=https://sbc.org.pl/dlibra/publication/282694/edition/267492 |work=Tygodnik Prudnicki |publisher=Spółka Wydawnicza "Aneks" |location=Prudnik |pages=1, 5 |language=pl |issn=1231-904X}}</ref>