Excerpt from Judgement: The Seizure of Czechoslovakia
On the 11th March, 1938, Goering made two separate statements to M. Mastny, the Czechoslovak Minister in Berlin, assuring him that the developments then taking place in Austria would in no way have any detrimental influence on the relations between the German Reich and Czechoslovakia . . .
This design to keep Czechoslovakia quiet whilst Austria was absorbed was a typical manoeuvre on the part of the defendant Goering, which he was to repeat later in the case of Poland . . .
The evidence shows that after the occupation of Austria by the German Army on the 12th March, and the annexation of Austria on the 13th March, Conrad Henlein, who was the leader of the Sudeten German party in Czechoslovakia, saw Hitler in Berlin on the 28th March. . . . Later the defendant Jodl recorded in his diary:
"After the annexation of Austria the Fuehrer mentions that there is no hurry to solve the Czech question, because Austria has to be digested first. Nevertheless, preparations for Case Gruen (that is, the plan against Czechoslovakia) will have to be carried out energetically; they will have to be newly prepared on the basis of the changed strategic position because of the annexation of Austria."
On the 21st April, 1938, a discussion took place between Hitler and the defendant Keitel with regard to "Case Gruen," showing quite clearly that the preparations for the attack on Czechoslovakia were being fully considered. On the 28th May, 1938, Hitler ordered that preparations should be made for military action against Czechoslovakia by the 2nd October, and from then onwards the plan to invade Czechoslovakia was constantly under review. On the 30th May, 1938, a directive signed by Hitler declared his "unalterable decision to smash Czechoslovakia by military action in the near future.”
Use the excerpt from Judgment: The Seizure of Czechoslovakia to answer the question.
In which sense were the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia significant to the "Czech question" as described in the excerpt?
A.
They were dispersed widely around Czechoslovakia, which allowed Nazi Germany to annex the country with relatively little resistance.
B.
They were primarily useful as a military forces, which Hitler believed he could enlist to fight for Nazi Germany in Poland during the later invasion.
C.
They lived in an area of no strategic importance, which made their help less valuable to Hitler as he contemplated invading Czechoslovakia after Austria.
D.
They inhabited an area known as the Sudetenland, which Hitler would invade and annex for the Germans in a continuation of the Nazi occupation of Europe.