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Auction: 18038 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 3096

(x) Autographs
The Munich Agreement
1938 (5th October) typewritten letter from 10 Downing Street to the Italian Ambassador in London, Conte Dino Grandi with autograph "Personal", My dear Grandi" and closes "Yours sincerely Neville Chamberlain"


The letter reads, "I am sure that you will forgive me for not having replied before to your letter of 30th September. This, I can assure you, was not from any lack of appreciation of what you say about me, for I am deeply grateful to you for the generous terms in which you refer to what I have been trying to do.
In my efforts for peace I have been fortified by the ready co-operation of Signor Mussolini and it was, therefore, a particular pleasure to me to meet him at Munich last week and thereby to strengthen the understanding between us. I hope that we may all feel that, by the agreement which he and I honour of signing with Herr Hitler and M. Daladier, we have made a great advance to securing a lasting peace for Europe."

With the original envelope from the office of the Prime Minister, with Official postmark dated 6th October.

An historic and highly important letter from Prime Minister Nevillle Chamberlain on his ill-fated attempt to secure peace in Europe. No other document of this importance regarding the Munich Pact has been recorded in private hands. The fact that it expresses Chamberlain's personal feelings add to its significance. Photo

A deal was reached on 29 September, and at about 1:30 am on 30 September 1938, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini and Édouard Daladier signed the Munich Agreement. The agreement was officially introduced by Mussolini although in fact the Italian plan was nearly identical to the Godesberg proposal: the German army was to complete the occupation of the Sudetenland by 10 October, and an international commission would decide the future of other disputed areas.


Czechoslovakia was informed by Britain and France that it could either resist Nazi Germany alone or submit to the prescribed annexations. The Czechoslovak government, realising the hopelessness of fighting the Nazis alone, reluctantly capitulated (30 September) and agreed to abide by the agreement. The settlement gave Germany the Sudetenland from 10 October, and de facto control over the rest of Czechoslovakia as long as Hitler promised to go no further. On 30 September after some rest, Chamberlain went to Hitler and asked him to sign a peace treaty between the United Kingdom and Germany. After Hitler's interpreter translated it for him, he happily agreed.

On 30 September, upon his return to Britain, Chamberlain delivered his controversial "peace in our time" speech to crowds in London.

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Sold for
£30,000