Which of these events was the greater success for Hitler: The remilitarisation of the Rhineland, 1936 OR The Munich agreement, 1938 (8 marks

The remilitarisation of the Rhineland, where Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles’ ban on keeping German military forces in the region bordering France, was a success because Hitler successfully achieved his aim of partially overturning the treaty of Versailles restrictive conditions against Germany, which was a major part of Nazi policy (and popular with many Germans). The lack of military response from Britain and France also strengthened Hitler’s internal position because he acted against the advice of military leaders who warned they would face armed retaliation. Hitler’s decision was therefore vindicated and his position as leader strengthened. The Munich agreement, where Britain and France agreed to Hitler’s demands to annex the mostly ethnically German Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia (in return for a promise of no further annexations), was a success for Hitler because he annexed a large, resource and industry rich region, strengthening German economic and military power, as well as successfully fulfilling his aim to unite German speaking peoples under a single German state, with 3.2 million German-speaking Czechs joining Germany. It was also successful in neutralising a potential military threat from Czechoslovakia. The Sudetenland had been well fortified and defended by the Czech army. By forcing them to cede the territory without military conflict, Czechoslovakia was left essentially defenceless, and Germany would later occupy the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Overall, the Munich agreement was the greater success for Hitler. While remilitarization of the Rhineland was diplomatically successful, in 1936 the German army was still small compared to France and could not effectively threaten France or even defend Germany effectively if France had decided to retaliate even after occupying the Rhineland, so the military value of militarisation was initially limited. Remilitarisation of the Rhineland did not expand Germany or make it meaningfully any stronger in economic or industrial terms. In comparison the Munich Agreement was a far larger success where Hitler significantly expanded German economic and military power, as well as fatally weakening Czechoslovakia, without military conflict.