The beginning of World War II is marked by the German invasion of Poland in 1939. But the aggressive ambitions of the Nazis were apparent well before that. The occupation of Austria and the annexation of Czechoslovakia, both in 1938, sparked fears of a new European conflict within living memory of the First World War. Determined to avoid such a war, Britain and France infamously pursued a policy of appeasement, condoning the annexation of the Sudetenland, which was a German-speaking Czechoslovak territory. The occupation, Mark Grimsley argued in World War II magazine, was crucial to German rearmament ahead of the war (via HistoryNet).
Germany’s military leaders did not universally accept Hitler’s determination to seize the Sudetenland as sound judgment. Although plans were in place should Britain and France hold firm, Germany was ill-equipped for war in 1938, and elements of its military were deeply uneasy with Adolf Hitler and Nazism. Notably, Lieutenant Colonel Hans Oster spearheaded a plan to use an anticipated invasion of Czechoslovakia as justification for a coup — one that would see Hitler killed and, according to Terry Parssinen’s “The Oster Conspiracy of 1938,” the German monarchy restored and paired with a British-style parliamentary system.
Per The Washington Post, it’s unclear whether the conspiracy was well-planned, as key generals hadn’t fully endorsed it. But had Oster and his men been prepared and had appeasement not robbed them of their pretext, Nazi leadership would have been neutralized, the march to Poland and war arrested, and Germany could have become a constitutional monarchy — perhaps remaining one to this day.
