Why did churchill believe the munich pact was the beginning of the reckoning?

Winston Churchill viewed the Munich Pact, signed in 1938, as a grave misstep that emboldened Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, signaling a dangerous appeasement policy. He believed it marked the beginning of a reckoning because it allowed totalitarian aggression to go unchecked, undermining the principles of collective security in Europe. Churchill felt that by conceding to Hitler's demands, Western democracies had postponed inevitable conflict, thus setting the stage for a larger and more destructive war. This belief ultimately fueled his calls for rearmament and a stronger stance against fascism.