Glossary

The Munich Agreement was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland Crisis between the major powers of Europe after a conference held in Munich, Germany in 1938 and signed on September 29. The Sudetenland was of immense strategic importance to Czechoslovakia, as most of its border defenses were situated there. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of Czechoslovakia in the face of territorial demands made by Adolf Hitler, and it ended up surrendering much of that state to Nazi Germany.
Because Czechoslovakia was not invited to the conference, the Munich Agreement is commonly called the Munich Dictate by Czechs and Slovaks. The phrase Munich betrayal is also frequently used because military alliances between Czechoslovakia and France and between France and Britain were not honoured.
The agreement is considered by many as the quintessential example of appeasement. Because Hitler soon violated the terms of the agreement, it has often been cited in support of the principle that tyrants should never be appeased.