THE MUNICH CONFERENCE The Situation in Czechoslovakia BACKGROUND GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Dais ........................................................................ 3 Letter from the Chair ...................................................................... 4 Committee Description ................................................................... 5 Context ........................................................................................... 6 Hitler’s Early Life ....................................................................................................................... 6 Hitler’s Beginning in Politics ....................................................................................................... 7 The Effects of the Depression ....................................................................................................... 8 Czechoslovakia and the Depression .............................................................................................. 8 Hitler’s Vision ............................................................................................................................ 9 The Crisis Over Austria, 1937-1938 ........................................................................................... 9 The Consequences of the Anschluss ............................................................................................. 10 The German Minority in Czechoslovakia .................................................................................. 10 Current Situation .......................................................................... 12 Czechoslovak and German Assets ............................................................................................... 13 Questions to Consider ............................................................................................................... 14 Dossiers ........................................................................................ 15 References ..................................................................................... 18 Letter from the Dais Dear Delegates, Welcome to SciMUNC XIII! We’re so excited to have you all here and hope this will be a great experience for every one of you. It is an honor for us, Stephanie Gallent and Gidget Rosen, to be your chairs for the crisis regarding the Munich Conference of 1938. Hi, everyone! I’m Stephanie, and I’ve been in Model UN since my freshman year. Over Jack Tapay the years, I’ve been able to practice my public speaking, hone my research skills, and gain confidence in my performance in committee. I hope that this conference will foster Secretary -General the same kind of growth for you. Outside of Model UN, I’m a member of my school’s Green Team, where my peers and I work very hard to make such a big school a more Jachym Harwood sustainable place. Being in a crisis committee can be very daunting, and there is Lillian Tzanev certainly a learning curve when it comes to succeeding in crisis. I’d also like to remind Directors-General everyone that this is a potentially sensitive topic that requires delicacy, so take care to respect your fellow delegates throughout the course of committee. I’m looking forward Krish Shah to seeing you all participate in intense debate and react to sudden changes of course in USG of Administration December! Hey everyone! My name is Gidget Rosen, and I am one of the co-chairs for this Sebastian Midura committee. I began doing Model UN in eighth grade, and it has been incredibly USG of General Assemblies influential on the way I interpret the world around me. It has only grown my love for and Specialized Committees public speaking and networking with others, and I hope to share that with you at this conference. Other than Model UN, I love to ski, play lacrosse, travel, and learn Menasha Thomas languages. Last year, I took a World War II-specific history class, which inspired me to Deputy-USG of General choose this topic, and I am really excited to see what you, as delegates, will bring to this Assemblies and Specialized committee. Committees My name is Julia Gallent, and I am going to be the rapporteur for this committee. I joined Model UN my freshman year after coming to the information session and a few Rizwan Kazi meetings because I felt really good when I knew all about a topic inside and out. Since USG of Crisis Committees then, I’ve loved coming to every club meeting! Outside of Model UN, I play softball and take singing lessons. This is a topic that requires much thought and I can’t wait to Celeste Abourjeili see what you all bring to the table. Deputy-USG of Crisis Committees Sincerely, Diane D. Steiker Stephanie Gallent ([email protected]) Faculty Advisor Gidget Rosen ([email protected]) Julia Gallent ([email protected]) Dais of the Munich Conference 75 West 205th Street Bronx, NY 10468 [email protected] www.scimun.com SciMUNC XIII | 4 Letter from the Chair CCol Friends, It is I, Adolf Hitler, Führer of Germany. As you all must know by now, I covet the land currently possessed by Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland. This is not for an unwarranted reason, though others may argue so; there is an oppressed German minority within the country, and it is my duty as the leader of Germany to bring all German minorities under the rule of the Third Reich. The ethnic Germans within Czechoslovakia have shown their utmost support for the Sudetenland’s absorption into Germany. In May, during its municipal elections, Czechoslovakia ceded more than seventy-five percent representation to the Sudeten German Party, which has proclaimed its allegiance to German Nazism. The Sudetenland would even benefit from German occupation, in that I might rid it of its Communist tendencies. Prague has undoubtedly been harboring Soviet aerodromes and military roads under the control of Soviet officials. Intervention by means of taking control of Sudetenland would help contain the spread of the ideological disease known as Communism. I look forward to our discussions in Munich, so that we may diplomatically determine how to proceed regarding the Sudetenland. I trust that you will make the right choice. Sincerely, Adolf Hitler 5 | The Munich Conference Committee Description CCol Preface • Communiques: A formal message from a committee or delegate to be sent to other For those who are new to Crisis Committees, it bodies or individuals. If sent from the is essential to note that a Crisis Committee is committee, communiques must first be different than a General Assembly in a few key approved by the committee. ways. In a broad sense, Crisis Committees and General Assemblies differ in their committee • Press Releases: Open public size, extent of influence, and degree of restraint. announcements, directed to the people, With these differences in mind, delegates must often to calm national tensions or reveal approach Crisis Committees differently than official action and policies. Press releases they would General Assemblies. Often, must be approved by the committee. delegates find that greater effort is necessary in • Crisis Notes: Action taken by an researching their position, as their relevance in individual delegate in accordance with Crisis Committees is greater than in General their resources and abilities. For example, Assemblies. This is largely due to the fact that a Minister of the Interior may send a note in General Assemblies, delegates participate in to the Crisis Room requesting to place larger bodies with less urgency for problem police officers on patrol in front of the solving, and are usually assigned a country house of another delegate to investigate rather than an individual as their position. who enters and leaves. That being said, delegates new to Crisis • Directives: Formal actions taken by the Committees should not feel intimidated. Small entirety of the committee. In order for a committee sizes typical to Crisis Committees directive to be passed, it must be provide delegates with an environment to approved by the committee. express their opinions more easily. Furthermore, the urgent nature of Crisis Committees encourages collaboration between delegates and an understanding of backroom and crisis notes. Crisis Structure Throughout the duration of this committee, our crisis staff will develop a narrative in response to the solutions delegates put out that will culminate in crisis updates. Delegates will be tasked with responding to crisis updates through documents such as directives and crisis notes, which will be developed during a series of moderated and unmoderated caucuses. Delegates ought to accurately represent their position and act on behalf of their stances and interests. This can be done through a series of actions unique to Crisis Committees, which are explained below: SciMUNC XIII | 6 Context CCol Hitler’s Early Life racism. During his free time, Hitler would read some German and Austrian newspapers, which Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 in Braunau am often discussed some people’s fears of Jews Inn, a small town in what was then considered taking over Europe, as well as politically-driven part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From books. He was quickly influenced by authors his early years in Volksschule, or primary such as Martin Luther, a key figure of the school, Hitler was already combatting the Protestant Reformation, as well as Georg Ritter disciplinary practices in place inside the von Schönerer, a strong German nationalist classroom. This, along with the death of his and