Final answer:
Western democracies, due to their appeasement policy, did not act against Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938, leading to his subsequent attack on Czechoslovakia.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1938, when Hitler took over Austria, the western democracies did nothing, so he attacked Czechoslovakia. This lack of response is attributed to the appeasement policy that Great Britain and France were following in an attempt to prevent another major war. After the annexation of Austria, an event known as the Anschluss, and a sham election that showed support for the annexation, Hitler set his sights on the Sudetenland, a region in Czechoslovakia with a significant German-speaking population. Despite this aggressive move, Britain and France continued their policy of appeasement at the Munich Conference, agreeing to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland. However, in 1939 Hitler broke his promise and German troops occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia, clearly showcasing that appeasement had failed.