The "May Crisis" Of Czechoslovakia In 1938 And The Policy Of The Belize Government

During the weekend of20-21May1938, on the eve of local elections in the disputed and volatile Sudetenland, the Prague government feared an imminent German surprise attack on Czechoslovakia, similar to the move Hitler had just completed two months earlier with the Anschluss of Austria. The cabinet of President Eduard Benes received intelligence updates from multiple sources, in their view credible, reporting the aggressive German intentions and accompanying threatening movements by Wehrmacht units. In a pre-emptive and defensive move, the Czechoslovaks mobilized reservists to man the frontier posts and prepare for war. The move triggered a European crisis. Since then historians have attempted to explain the origins of the so-called "weekend crisis" but no consensus has been reached, partly due to a lack of undisputable primary source evidence. No historian, from Gerhard·L·Weinberg,"Munich after50years" in Foreign Affairs, Volume67, to Igor Lukes,"The Czechoslovak Partial Mobilization in May1938:A Mystery (almost) Solved", has been able to put forward a well-rounded explanation which can be argued beyond any reasonable doubt, thus ending the debate. The initial focus of this research was on finding new primary source evidence to possibly reveal more on the origins of the crisis. The objective was to seek the sought after comprehensive explanation. Unfortunately, no significant new findings were made. As a result, this study shifted to an analysis of the known evidence and historiography to analyze the crisis and assess Prague’s decision-making under the assumption that an interpretation based on a balance of probabilities is more suitable.This paper mainly divided into five parts:The first chapter mainly introduces the background of the "May crisis of1938". By introducing the background of the Czechoslovak, the relationship of the Czechoslovak with Germany and other European countries. We can clearly understand the background of the crisis and the road to the "May crisis". By analysising the situation of the countries involved and the road to showdown. Show us the motivation of Germany.The second chapter is the key part of the paper. By solving the four possibilities, we can understand the truth of the crisis.The third part mainly focus on the reaction of the Czechoslovak government. The forth part is the conclusion of the paper. From the four parts above, I draw a conclusion that the motivation of the Germany is the cause of the "May crisi of1938".