Appeasement: the SHOCKING truth about the 1938 Munich Agreement (part 3 of 3)

Neville Chamberlain's perfidious game in 1938 deliberately created a monster in the heart of Europe, setting stage for the continent's greatest tragedy in history.

This is part 3 of the 3-part reconstruction of the key historical episode that catalyzed the descent to World War II.

In part 1 (with a 45-minute video report that covers all 3 parts) we traced the beginnings of the Czechoslovak crisis through 1938 and the way Britain facilitated Hitler’s ambitions toward Czechoslovakia while pressuring her government in Prague to yield to Germany’s ever escalating demands. Part 2 covers the culmination of the crisis with the four-powers agreement in Munich and the elaborate deception Chamberlain perpetrated to deceive the British public into accepting it. Britain’s supposed policy of appeasement ended in March 1939, after Hitler breached the Munich agreement, annexed the whole of Czechoslovakia and installed a puppet government allied with Germany in Prague. Even then, Britain continued to support Hitler.

Setting the target at Poland

Following the destruction of Czechoslovakia, Hitler turned his attention to Poland. At first, it was just diplomacy: the talks with Poland kicked off on 21 October 1938. As expected, German representatives asked the Polish government for the city of Danzig and a kilometer-wide strip across the Polish Corridor to accommodate a highway and four-track railroad under German sovereignty. These were deemed moderate requests and they were made to the Polish ally in a relatively cordial atmosphere.

The territories in question were parts of Germany that she’d lost by Versailles treaty after the World War I, so German demands didn’t seem outrageous. At that time Hitler did not intend to overrun Poland, but rather to engage her in the forthcoming invasion of Russia. If his demands were granted, Germany was prepared to reciprocate with certain concessions to Poland. However, the Polish government did not yield to German demands.

Chamberlain’s bizarre guarantee of Poland

A few months later, on 21 March 1939, Hitler reiterated his demands, this time more forcefully. When the news of this reached London, UK’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain suddenly and unilaterally issued a strangely worded security guarantee for Poland. It read as follows:

“Certain consultations are now proceeding with other governments. In order to make perfectly clear the position of His Majesty’s Government in the meantime, before those consultations are concluded, I now have to inform the House [of Commons] that during that period, in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist with their national forces, His Majesty’s Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Polish Government all support in their power.”

This was the first time Britain made such a commitment to another nation since 1918. Not only did the British government commit to guaranteeing a foreign nation, it also gave that nation the privilege to decide when the guarantee would take effect, while asking for nothing in return. Importantly, the British only guaranteed Poland’s independence, not its territorial integrity. In that, they left the door wide open for Germany to continue pressuring Poland for territorial concessions.

Britain seeks a non-aggression pact with Hitler

In July 1939, about two months after Chamberlain’s guarantee of Poland’s independence, the Reich commissioner for Germany’s “Four Year Plan,” Helmut Wohlthat came to London to attend an international whaling conference. On the occasion, he was approached by Chamberlain’s personal representative, Sir Horace Wilson who communicated to him the proposals which the British government wished to discuss with Germany. They included

1. a non-aggression pact (between Britain and Germany),

2. a delimitation of spheres of interest,

3. colonial concessions in Africa,

4. an economic agreement, and

5. a disarmament agreement.

German ambassador to London Herbert von Dirksen reported about these contacts to Berlin, stating that, “Sir Horace Wilson definitely told Herr Wohlthat that the conclusion of a nonaggression pact would enable Britain to rid herself of her commitments vis-à-vis Poland.”

Britain’s guarantee dooms Poland

Britain’s guarantee emboldened the Polish leadership to harden their stance vis-à-vis Germany in the mistaken belief that Britain and France would have unleashed a full-scale offensive against Germany if Hitler decided to strike at Poland. Unaware of the British guarantee at first, Hitler was surprised by Poland’s sudden defiance. But if the intention of the British guarantee was to deter Germany, its effect was exactly the opposite. When Hitler did learn about it, he immediately decided to attack Poland. During a secret conference with his generals on 23 May 1939, Hitler said that,

“The Polish problem is inseparable from the conflict with the West. … Poland sees danger in a German victory in the West and will attempt to rob us of a victory there. There is, therefore, no question of sparing Poland, and we are left with the decision: to attack Poland at the first suitable opportunity.”

The plan was hatched to launch the attack before September 1939. Beyond Chamberlain’s strange guarantee, Britain did next to nothing to ensure Poland’s security: it made no real effort to build up a defense front with Poland and no military arrangements were made as to how Britain and Poland would cooperate in a war. Britain’s efforts to rearm Poland were delivered late, in inadequate amounts and in an unworkable form. At the same time, London continued to provide very substantial support to Germany.

Secret loans for Germany

In May 1939 when Chamberlain issued his guarantee, there was talk about a £100 million loan to Poland, but the British stalled and delayed, delivering far too little and far too late: Poland finally obtained a small credit of $8,163,300 only one month before the German invasion. At the same time, as Quigley writes, “all London was buzzing about a secret loan of £1,000,000,000 from Britain to Germany,” more than a hundred times the meager credit extended to Poland. The rumors were in fact corroborated by Hitler himself. Speaking of these events at a later date (in August 1942), he said:

“Schacht had told me that we had at our disposal a credit of fifteen hundred million marks abroad, and it was on this basis that I planned my Four Year Plan, which never caused me the slightest anxiety… And this is how things are today, and we never find ourselves blocked for money.” [Source: Guido Giacomo Preparata, “Conjuring Hitler,” p. 228]

The Schacht that Hitler was referring to was his then Economy Minister, Hjalmar Schacht, former Wall Street banker, head of the Reichsbank and a very close associate of Bank of England’s governor, Montagu Norman.

Far from discouraging German aggression, British actions only bolstered Hitler in his determination. During a secret conference with his generals held on 22 August 1939, Hitler said:

“The following is characteristic of England. Poland wanted a loan from England for rearmament. England, however, gave only a credit to make sure that Poland buys in England, although England cannot deliver. This means that England does not really want to support Poland.”

Of course, Hitler was right: Britain only signed a formal alliance with Poland on 25 August 1939, the very day when Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland and far too late to change the course of events. At a time when the British public opinion was deeply opposed to Nazi Germany, that move was intended more to appease the British public than to provide any meaningful support to Poland.

But the fact that Britain did, in fact, have considerable influence to change the course of events became apparent: upon learning of the British-Polish alliance, the stubborn, unstoppable Hitler immediately reversed his orders to invade Poland, (only a few hours after he had issued them). However, the pause wasn’t used to sue for peace and after a week’s delay, the invasion went ahead on September 1, 1939.

All these events beg the question: why did Britain so consistently miss every chance to preserve peace on the continent and restrain Hitler? Why did the British and American corporations and bankers provide such abundant support to Nazi Germany even when it was abundantly clear that most of this support was being used for rearmament? We can glean the answers to these questions in the wider agenda behind their geopolitics.

The greater agenda: a three-bloc word

Keeping up the appearance of trying to restrain Hitler while covertly aiding and abetting him was the hallmark of British secret diplomacy through much of the 1930s. Referring to this period, American historian Carroll Quigley wrote that “in general, the key to everything was the position of Britain.” At that time Britain was the dominant power in world diplomacy, exerting disproportionate influence in Europe and much of the world. It controlled the maritime trade routes and the flow of capital through London which reigned still as the world’s financial capital. Nearly all governments in Europe conducted foreign policy in consultations with London.

Britain’s secret policy agenda for Germany was set well before the war. It was in fact the blueprint for the War’s initial stages. On 19 November 1937, one of the key exponents of the British foreign policy, Lord Halifax visited Hitler at his alpine residence. On the occasion, Halifax implicitly encouraged Hitler to take over Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Danzig. (Preparata, 238) Less than four months later, on 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Austria and annexed her the following day. The British government did not object.

We might ask, why were the British encouraging Hitler to do this? Britain’s support for Hitler was in fact a part of their larger, “three-bloc-world” agenda. After the Munich conference in September 1938, Lord Halifax revealed how the ruling establishment envisioned those three blocks:

1. Germany [as] the dominant power on the continent with predominant rights in southeastern Europe,

2. Britain dominating Euro-Atlantic west in alliance with the United States, and

3. Securing Far-Eastern dominions in alliance with Japan.

In this vision of a new global order, Germany would be built up and supported not only as a dominating power in Central and Eastern Europe, but also as a bludgeon to wield against Russia.

Britain’s seven point policy toward Germany

With that objective in mind, the British foreign policy establishment had formulated a more detailed, seven-point policy toward Germany which was communicated to German officials by various spokesmen from 1937 onward:

1. Hitler’s Germany was the front-line bulwark against the spread of Communism in Europe

2. A four-Power pact of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany to prevent all Russian influence in Europe was the ultimate objective; accordingly, Britain had no desire to weaken the Rome-Berlin Axis

3. Britain had no objection to German acquisition of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Danzig.

4. Germany must not use force to achieve its aims in Europe as this could precipitate a war in which Britain would have to intervene because of the pressure of public opinion in Britain and the French system of alliances; with patience, Germany could get its aims without using force.

5. Britain wanted an agreement with Germany restricting the numbers and the use of bombing planes

6. Britain was prepared – conditionally – to give Germany colonial areas in south-central Africa, including the Belgian Congo and Portuguese Angola.

7. Britain would use pressure on Czechoslovakia and Poland to negotiate with Germany and to be conciliatory to Germany’s desires.

After the Munich crisis and dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, an eighth point was added to the program, which entailed economic support for Germany. Thus, British support for Germany’s annexation of Austria, destruction of Czechoslovakia and invasion of Poland were the result of a covert policy that deliberately created a monster in the heart of Europe.

In effect, Britain’s secret diplomacy not only supported Hitler, but actually directed the events from behind the curtains. Indeed, if we pay close attention to the recent years’ developments, all this should sound eerily familiar including Britain’s incurable obsession with destroying Russia.

The “three block” imperial agenda today

While Nazism was defeated in World War II at a massive cost in lives and treasure, the same structures of power that financed and empowered Hitler have retained their levers of power and are continuing to shape global geopolitics to this day. They have not given up on their vision of a “three block world”, which is perhaps most visibly represented by the Trilateral Commission, one of the most influential think tanks in the world. Founded in July 1973, the Trilateral Commission’s aim is to foster close cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America.

But unlike in the 1930s, today the control of continental Europe was being pursued through the ostensibly democratic political institutions of the European Union rather than by conquest and brute military force. Even here however, Germany has emerged as the dominant power among supposed equals and today the leaders in Germany, along with those in France and Great Britain seem obsessed with defeating Russia.

It is hard to overestimate the recklessness of this obsession. World War I resulted in some 40 million casualties. World War II cost about 85 million. World War III could be far worse and should never even be contemplated. For all of us who want future generations to know peace and prosperity, this is the time for our voices to be heard loud and clear and to pray for peace.

Alex Krainer – @NakedHedgie is the creator of I-System Trend Following and publisher of daily TrendCompass investor reports which cover over 200 financial and commodities markets. One-month test drive is always free of charge, no jumping through hoops to cancel. To start your trial subscription, drop us an email at TrendCompass@ISystem-TF.com, or:

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