The
Munich Agreement was a settlement permitting
Nazi Germany's
annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's borders mainly inhabited by German speakers, for which a new territorial designation "
Sudetenland" was coined. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in
Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe, excluding the
Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. Today, it is widely regarded as a failed act of
appeasement toward Germany. The agreement was signed in the early hours of 30 September 1938 (but dated 29 September). The purpose of the conference was to discuss the future of the Sudetenland in the face of ethnic demands made by
Adolf Hitler. The agreement was signed by Germany,
France, the
United Kingdom, and
Italy. Sudetenland was of immense strategic importance to
Czechoslovakia, as most of its border defenses,and banks were situated there, as well heavy industrial districts.