Read the sources and then answer both parts of the question. Source A It is my unalterable decision to smash Czechoslovakia by military action soon. I will wait for, or create, the most suitable moment from a political and military point of view. To this end, preparations are to be made immediately. The following are necessary for the intended attack: a) An apparent excuse; b) Adequate political justification; c) Action not expected by the enemy which will find it unprepared. Most favourable would be action as the result of provocation which, in the eyes of at least some international opinion, gives the moral justification for military measures. It is important to increase the total economic war effort so sparing, as far as military operations permit, Czech industrial and engineering establishments may be of decisive importance. Hitler's secret directive for the invasion of Czechoslovakia, 30 May 1938. Source B The creation of Czechoslovakia after the war was complete insanity. This Czech illness must be dealt with. It is like a cancer which will infect international relations until they finally break down. As an ally of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia points like a dagger at the heart of Germany. It has reinforced my determination to create a mighty German Luftwaffe. If we fail to resolve the crisis now, Göring would soon be asking me to double the Luftwaffe's forces once again, then Britain and France would double theirs as well, and so the insane race would go on. Seven million Czechs oppress eight million minority peoples. It was a deed of insanity and ignorance to have a handful of obviously inferior Czechs rule over minorities. Sudeten Germans have absolutely no respect for the Czechs and will not submit to their rule. Hitler speaking in an interview with a British journalist, 17 September 1938. Source C The problem of relations between races in the territory now called Czechoslovakia has existed for many centuries with periods of fierce struggle and periods of relative calm. Sudeten extremists provoked the riots after Hitler's speech; they were responsible for the breakdown of negotiations between Czechoslovakia and Germany, encouraged by their followers at home and abroad. However, I have great sympathy for the Sudetenland cause. It is hard to be ruled by a foreign race. My impression is that the Czechoslovak government, although not actually oppressive, was marked by tactlessness and discrimination that has led to the resentment of the German population. Czech officials and policemen who did not speak German were appointed to German districts, and many believe that the state provided work and aid to the Czechs much more willingly than to the Germans. I think these complaints are largely justified. The rise of Nazi Germany gave the Sudeten Germans new hope and a very large majority of their population wishes to merge with Germany. Lord Runciman to Prime Minister Chamberlain, 21 September 1938. A mission of British diplomats led by Lord Runciman was sent to Prague on 3 August 1938. Source D Prague was accused of systematically mistreating the Germans of Sudetenland, much like the Vienna government had been accused of mistreating the German part of the population. The German press echoed the complaints and exposed at length and indignantly the injustices they suffered; it called for a speedy end to this intolerable abuse, which incidentally had never been mentioned before Hitler gained power. The German newspapers recalled with suspicious perseverance the atrocities committed in the distant past by the ancestors of the Czechs. The entire policy reeked of evil intent which the Nazi chiefs did not even trouble to conceal. One evening at dinner at the French Embassy, when champagne had disposed him to be indiscreet, Göring tackled the subject squarely. 'Consider the shape of Czechoslovakia on the map,' he told me. 'Isn't this a challenge to common sense? We shall have to eliminate it.' From the memoirs of the French Ambassador in Berlin from 1931 to 1938, published in 1949. Answer both parts of the question with reference to the sources.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Feb/Mar 2025). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [15] Indicative content
2. Similarities
3. Both sources indicate that there is a long-standing issue – Source C talks of the 'problem' having 'existed for many centuries' and Source D mentions 'the atrocities committed in the distant past by the ancestors of the Czechs'.
4. Both also describe the German speakers' claims of poor treatment. These 'injustices' are referred to in Source D and explained as 'tactlessness and discrimination' in Source C.
5. They link the expression of this resentment to the circumstances in Germany - to the 'rise of Nazi Germany' and Hitler gaining power.
6. Differences
7. Source C sees the complaints as 'largely justified' and gives some examples, while the tone of Source D is much more sceptical, saying the claims 'reeked of evil intent'.
8. The complaints are seen as largely arising from the situation within the Sudetenland in C, but as being provoked by the 'German press' and Nazis in Germany in D.
9. Explanation
10. Neville Chamberlain sent Runciman on a mission to Czechoslovakia to try and see if there was a solution which accommodated the demands of the Sudeten Germans. This took place in the weeks before the Munich agreement, and the conciliatory tone of Runciman's report is in step with Chamberlain's aim to conciliate and appease.
11. The French ambassador, in contrast, clearly sees German wishes to expand as a much more pressing threat. This reflects the French view at the time, and their fear that Hitler would overturn all the territorial settlements made at Versailles. It is also written after the war, which confirmed these French fears.
12. Accept any other valid responses.
13. [25] Indicative content
14. Support
15. Source B: Hitler claims this as a second motive, when he asserts 'seven million Czechs oppress' the Sudeten minority.
16. Source C: This offers the strongest support, as it shows how, from a Sudeten perspective, it is ‘hard to be ruled by a foreign race' and maintains that 'a very large majority' of the Sudeten German population 'wishes to merge with Germany'. The ‘breakdown of negotiations between Czechoslovakia and Germany' was caused by the demands of the Sudeten Germans and their supporters 'at home and abroad', which implies that the Germans were acting to support this minority group, although there is also a suggestion that the riots and unrest were 'provoked' by extremists.
17. Challenge
18. Source A: This makes clear that the real motives are military, and the situation of the German minorities would simply serve as a pretext by giving 'the moral justification for military measures'.
19. There is also the suggestion of an economic motive in the reference to the 'decisive importance' for the 'economic war effort' of 'Czech industrial and engineering establishments'.
20. Source B: Hitler expresses the belief that the very existence of Czechoslovakia is an insult, and that it poses a strategic threat to Germany as 'Czechoslovakia points like a dagger at the heart of Germany'. He blames the arms race on German fears of an attack from this territory.
21. Source D: There is strong denial here. The claim is mocked and linked to Nazi aggression as it 'incidentally had never been mentioned before Hitler gained power'. Göring 'at dinner at the French Embassy' is alleged to have echoed Hitler's claim in Source B, that the way Czechoslovakia impacted on Germany meant there was a need 'to eliminate it'.
22. Evaluation
23. Source A: This document, signed by Hitler, demonstrates that the occupation of Czechoslovakia had been planned before the Munich conference and that the treatment of German speakers was to be used as a moral justification, in a similar way to Austria and Poland.
24. There is evidence that this was a part of Hitler's long-term intentions – the annexation of Czechoslovakia is a key part of the Hossbach Memorandum of November 1937.
25. Source B: Here Hitler is presenting his claims in a way designed to appeal to a sympathetic British audience, in his references to the Czechs as Soviet allies, as provoking the arms race and as racially inferior. All these ideas fed into right wing fears and demonstrate Hitler's skill in exploiting the situation and concealing his much less acceptable aims.
26. Source C: This view from a largely sympathetic British observer shows that there was some mistreatment but that the unrest which Hitler would exploit was largely incited by Nazi supporters.
27. Source D: The French view shows fear and suspicion of Germany and paints the presentation of Sudeten hardship as exaggeration and hypocrisy, while Göring is willing to divulge the real aims of the German government. There is, of course, an element of self-justification in a post-war context here, as the French had been more openly aware than Britain of the dangers posed by the Nazi regime, though equally unable to take decisive action.
28. Accept any other valid responses.