The lesson of the Sudetenland

This was the German Army's Sudetenland campaign medal.

In 1938, Hitler argued that the German population of Czechoslovakia was being oppressed, and demanded that it cede its mountainous border areas.

Of course, Hitler masked his intentions with talk of self-determination.

"I am asking neither that Germany be allowed to oppress three and a half million Frenchmen, nor am I asking that three and a half million Englishmen be placed at our mercy. Rather I am simply demanding that the oppression of three and a half million Germans in Czechoslovakia cease and that the inalienable right to self-determination take its place."

Abandoned by Great Britain and France in the Munich Agreement, Czechoslovakia complied. Neville Chamberlain declared "Peace in our time" and everyone hoped that by throwing the Czechs under the bus they have have more time to prepare.

Of course, that was not the case. The following year, Germany overran the remainder of the country, and shortly thereafter invaded Poland. It was the start of World War II.

To me, this medal is a reminder that there is no satisfying a militaristic dictator's delusions of grandeur. It's either confront now or confront later at a higher cost.

And that lesson is just as relevant today as it was back then.