Posted on 04/02/2015 5:14:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
The Western capitulation to Adolf Hitler in the 1938 Munich Agreement is cited as classic appeasement that destroyed Czechoslovakia, backfired on France and Britain, and led to World War II.
All of that is true.
But there was much more that caused the Munich debacle than simple Western naiveté. The full tragedy of that ill-fated agreement should warn us on the eve of the Obama's administration's gullible agreement with Iran on nuclear proliferation.
Fable one is the idea that most people saw right through the Munich folly. True, Europeans knew that Hitler had never once told the truth and was already murdering German citizens who were Jews, communists or homosexuals. But Europeans did not care all that much.
Instead, the Western world was ecstatic over the agreement. After the carnage of World War I, Europeans would do anything to avoid even a small confrontation -- even if such appeasement all but ensured a far greater bloodbath than the one that began in 1914.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
Sorry, had another thought.
People are still drawing different conclusions even about the western failure to stand up to Hitler at Munich. Pat Buchanan has made somewhat of a cottage industry out of WWII being pretty much entirely the fault of the West, and especially Churchill.
It’s a pretty stupid cottage industry, IMO, but he sure works at it.
Most of the criticisms of western leaders are of the same variety as those who think we “should have” just kept going after Germany collapsed, invading USSR and destroying Communism. That counter-factual analysis is based on geopolitical theories that just ignore the real facts. Such as the enormously obvious one that the citizens of the Allies, and quite probably their armies, would simply have refused to obey. If FDR or Truman had tried any such thing, they would have quickly been impeached, or at minimum had funding cut off.
Similarly, IF Britain and France had been different countries in 1938, their leaders would have had options that included (possibly) facing Hitler down. Since they weren’t different countries, those leaders didn’t have those options. BTW, for the most part they didn’t have those options in earlier years, either.
IOW, IF your aunt had balls, she’d be your uncle. But since she doesn’t, she’s still your aunt.
"Death to America!"
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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The German Wehrmacht was not ready to take on Czechoslovakia, France and England. The Germans would have got a very bloody nose invading Czechoslovakia. Their border defenses and their excellent army would have wiped out many Wehrmacht divisions. The German generals said as much when they inspected the Czech defenses after France and England betrayed her at Munich. That's a fact.
Enough said!
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.” - Churchill to Chamberlain after Munich, and you had to know deep down Chamberlain knew Churchill was right.
I remember.
I will never know in my lifetime just how close an agreement could have been fashioned. True, Hitler was a liar and had lied twice. Pretty hard to judge whether the whole thing could have been avoided.
That is another story.
Hitler did have reasonable issues as to the Sudeten Germans and Danzig, but instead of engaging in diplomacy, even at knifepoint, he went postal.
Chamberlain was not a coward or a pu$$y. He followed the political line that was shared by the King, Lord Fairfax, and the upper classes of which Lord Hamilton, the target of Hess' mission, were toeing.
I admit that I bought into this perversion of history and it is purely ignorant. The only more egregious perversions are by the Churchill haters, who to this day rewrite history to slander him for whatever reason!
The statement was made to mean that had Hitler have attacked Britain in 1938, he would have had an immediate success. Churchill was kind enough to deliver a eulogy a few days after Chamberlain's death in 1940. He was a broken man because of the perfidy of Hitler.
Excuse the ramble and I shall have to do more reading of Hess and his flight.
The actual Churchill quote, even more relevant:
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.”
I would not be surprised if Israel takes it upon itself to act alone, as it has in the past.
Hopefully surgical and not leave any traces shy of a few smoking holes in the enemy, its leadership and ability to do damage via diplomatic deception or delivery of WMD’s ..... proactive offense is a valid defense . Hit “all” threats to your people Bibi....ALL of em....same time.
my opinion ....
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