History US History HIS 203 7 Attachments 1 2 3 4 [15] An international crisis ensued. An example is the surrender of Sudetenland (and eventually Czechoslovakia) to Germany, and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement. While many would say that the British and French could have seized the moment and stood firm during the Czechosovakia crisis, one forgets the fact that both the French and British were VERY unprepared for war. 2. Because the Western democracies gave Hitler the land immediately to avoid future conflict. [56], A few on the left said that Chamberlain looked forward to a war between Germany and the Soviet Union. Many have judged that belief to be fallacious since the dictators' demands were not limited, and appeasement merely gave them time to gain greater strength. He expressed his contempt for them in a speech that he delivered to his Commanders in Chief: "Our enemies have leaders who are below the average. Even though not substantial, the small increments helped the British war effort in a significant way as the government had more resources at their disposal. [36] Anti-communism was sometimes acknowledged as a deciding factor, as mass labour unrest resurfaced in Britain, and news of Stalin's bloody purges disturbed the West. However, Britain couldnt go straight into war as no one wanted a war: that is why British people wanted appeasement so they could avoid war at all costs. This enabled Britain to rally its people and ensured that they were convinced that fighting was the only option and unified Britain in wartime. The Labour MP Hugh Dalton identified the policy with wealthy people in the City of London, Conservatives and members of the peerage who were soft on Hitler. Was appeasement the right policy for England in 1938. Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites. Terms in this set (16) Document A: Chamberlain (Sourcing) When and where did this speech take place? A strong Germany can indeed serve as a buffer to the spread of Communism, but after the Franco-Soviet pact put Germany in a position where it was against both the Eastern and Western European powers. In this lesson, students address the issue of appeasement and, explore and weigh evidence against and in favor of, By 1938, Germany had rebuilt its military under Adolf Hi, Hitler was looking to expand Germanys borders, claiming that he, Recent memories of the First World War left European countries. British politicians were so paranoid about war that they forgot to defend their own country's interests. The smaller country usually needs to tread lightly and try diplomacy first. [68] As Richard Cockett noted: [Chamberlain] had successfully demonstrated how a government in a democracy could influence and control the press to a remarkable degree. The German Propaganda Ministry issued press reports that riots had broken out in Austria and that large parts of the Austrian population were calling for German troops to restore order. Italy demanded apologies and compensation from Abyssinia, which appealed to the League, with Emperor Haile Selassie famously appealing in person to the assembly in Geneva. Moreover Great Britain was a democratic country, Chamberlain was not a dictator with the right to start a war if he pleased. Not the other way round. France consulted Britain and lodged protests with the League but took no action. Review Guiding Questions and read excerpts. [39] Consciously encouraging war with Stalin is not widely accepted to be a motive of the Downing Street appeasers, but there is a historical consensus that anti-communism was central to appeasement's appeal for the conservative elite. The UK government had no choice but to offer appeasement in 1938 because its Armed Forces were so small there was nothing that they could do against Germany who had been preparing for war since 1933. This is the strategy Britain used with Hitler, ignored or satisfying demands for territory and rearmament in the hope that one day Hitler would simply stop. Appeasement was said to have been beneficial because it provided the Allies with more time to prepare for war. October 1938. Thus, appeasement was the right policy, for it gave time for the British to rearm against a superior German military, whereas declaring war on Germany to defend Czechoslovakian Honour would have resulted in disaster. CreateDebate is a social debate community built around ideas, discussion and democracy. The British people were unwilling to go to war, but that could be easily changed if the media and propaganda started portraying Hitler as an aggressive person trying to take over Europe. However, it is a self-guided tour of the country that will help you understand, that will allow you to see it from the inside and see not only popular tourist sites, but also other interesting sights. Having the time to rearm, there may be less casualties resulting from WW2 as compared to having no time to rearm at all. They emboldened Hitler to pursue his aggressive foreign policy. His officers had orders to withdraw if they met French resistance. Taylor in his book The Origins of the Second World War. it encouraged more aggression. Even though appeasement didn't get rid of war between Britain and Germany, it was a great decision for Britain in 1938. Academics, politicians.and diplomats have intensely debated the 1930s appeasement policies ever since they occurred. [47] However, the Royal Air Force had two major weapons systems in the works: better interceptors (Hurricanes and Spitfires) and especially radar. However, appeasement was not largely justified because there were many opportunities to hinder Hitlers plans, such as not allowing the remilitarization of the Rhineland which led up to Hitlers increase of aggressiveness, more time for Germany to prepare for war, the betrayal of Czechoslovakia, losing the allies . [29] Ribbentrop demanded the return of Klaipda to Germany and threatened military action. Frank McDonough is a leading proponent of that view of appeasement, which was described his book Neville Chamberlain, Appeasement and the British Road to War[81] as a "post revisionist" study. Had they realised that they needed more men, Britain would be able to turn to France for support as France supported Britain. [36], In Britain, the Royal Navy generally favoured appeasement although it was during the Abyssinia Crisis of 1937 that it was confident it could easily defeat the Royal Italian Navy in open warfare. [67] The BBC radio producers continued to censor news of persecution of Jews even after the war broken out, as Chamberlain still held out hopes of a quick armistice and did not want to inflame the atmosphere. Even if the German forces were very strong, had Britain stood by Czechoslovakia, which had one of the best armies in the world at that time, they had a big chance of defeating Germany. Appeasement was an active policy, not a passive one, and allowing Hitler to consolidate was a policy implemented by "men confronted with real problems, doing their best in the circumstances of their time". . Nevertheless, the Italian economy suffered. At Chamberlain's request, Hitler readily signed an agreement for between the United Kingdom and Germany. The general strike of 1926 and the depression made the possibility of revolution a very real concern to conservative politicians. His expansionist policies could be seen taking place right in front of British eyes, but their politicians were so paranoid about war that they did not do anything about it. If this is your first time checking out a debate, here are some quick tips to help get you started: Jeremy Matthew [NO] - I think Appeasement policy was not the right policy that Britain had taken in 1938. [9] In Parliament, the Labour Party opposed the agreement. Was Appeasement the Right Policy for England in 1938? By showing that appeasement was a popular policy and that there was a continuity in British foreign policy after 1933, he shattered the common view of the appeasers as a small degenerate clique that had mysteriously hijacked the British government sometime in the 1930s that had carried out their policies in the face of massive public resistance. I do not think that appeasement was the right policy for England in 1938. [77], During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay and various hawks within the Kennedy administration for an air strike on Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba compared Kennedy's hesitance to do so to appeasement. When the German Empire and Austria-Hungary were broken up in 1918, Austria was left as a rump state with the temporary adopted name Deutschsterreich ("German-Austria"), with the vast majority of Austrians wanting to join Germany. On 24 September, Germany issued the Godesberg Memorandum, which demanded cession by 28 September or war. 2.Round 1: Take out Documents A and B, Guiding Questions, and Hypotheses Sheet. Historians such as Richard Cockett, William Shirer and Frank McDonough have confirmed the claim[62][63] and have also noted the links between The Observer The results of an October 1938 Gallup poll, which showed 86% of the public believed Hitler was lying about his future territorial ambitions, was censored from the News Chronicle at the last minute by the publisher, who was loyal to Chamberlain. ", Van Tol, David. Although she argued against the policy of "peace at almost any price",[70] she did not take a personal tone, unlike Guilty Men two years later. Was Appeasement the Right Policy for England? However, even if Britain were to go to war immediately, they would not have the financial capabilities to do so. What was the result of the policy of appeasement? 3.Round 2: Take out Documents C, D, and E. Although, we now know that in hindsight, it was perhaps a bad move as it egged on Hitler to persue a much more aggressive policy, at the time it was the correct choice. It was the right policy as at that point of time, Britain was still reeling from the Great Depression. To make their presence more evident, the Munich Agreement would be the best diplomatic solution forward, agree? Some Conservatives abstained in the vote, but the only MP to advocate war was the Conservative Duff Cooper, who had resigned from the government to protest the agreement. In January 1938, the Austrian Nazis attempted a putsch following which some were imprisoned. (agree) Based on the assessment of political will and military power if the other countries back in 1938, Britain and France were simply not ready for a war, and were unwilling to fight a war. Colebatch, "Epitaph for a Liar", "Secretary of State Pompeo blames current tension with Iran on 'Obama administration's appeasement', "Appeasement: The Gathering Storm (Teachers Exercises)", "Appeasing Putin in Ukraine would be disastrous for European security", "NATO rejects Ukraine no-fly zone, unhappy Zelenskiy says this means more bombing", "The west knows the cost of appeasement. As a result, they had mixed feelings towards the German and Italian regimes which had crushed the communists and socialists in their own countries".[85]. Instituted in the hope of avoiding war, appeasement was the name given to Britains policy in the 1930s of allowing Hitler to expand German territory unchecked. While many thought it wasn't the best policy for England at the time, it gave 6 months of peace before rearming.Over all, it wasn't the right policy at the time because, everyone tried to control the peace, but it all depends on how others. Slovakia separated and created under a puppet government of Germany. occupation of the rump state of Czechoslovakia. agreed that Germany would not seek to acquire additional territory. It was a disaster. Not only did his following grow with each shackle broken but so did his means of being able to wage a war as he was allowed to . The British, after seeing the devastating effects of war, prioritised peace more than anything else, thus the people felt that appeasement was better than war. 3.They needed Germany to fight against communism. rearnament was only a last bail out option from this. Chamberlain did not know the true intentions of Hitler at that time, and after the Sudetenland incident, Hitler promised that it was the last request for territory expansion. To learn more about the CreateDebate scoring system, check out the, When you are ready to voice your opinion, use the. A common upper-class slogan was "better Hitlerism than Communism". Chamberlain used discussion here with Hitler to The people are sick of war, if Britain is to jump straight into war and without appeasement, Britain will lose the majority of the support from the British. [23] Chamberlain ultimately ceded to all of Hitler's demands at Munich because he believed Britain and Nazi Germany were "the two pillars of European peace and buttresses against communism".[24][25]. The people were wary of another war and if they had not tried appeasement, the government would not have the full support of the people if a war broke out. Shreyas Yes, Britain tried their best to prevent or at the least delay another war from happening. The prime minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, met with Adolf Hitler twice in 1938 to discuss Germany's aggressive foreign policy. As someone mentioned, even at the end appeasement was a failure as it ended up with war. In conclusion, Britains choice to adopt a policy of appeasement during the 1930s was a wise decision, as it delayed war, prolonged the amount of time the country had to build up arms, and pleased the public. Appeasement gave the British more time to rearm their embarrassingly unprepared military for the future onslaught of the German Attack. By contrast, the few who stood out against appeasement were seen as "voices in the wilderness whose wise counsels were largely ignored, with almost catastrophic consequences for the nation in 193940". On 22 September, Chamberlain flew to Bad Godesberg for his second meeting with Hitler and said that he was willing to accept the cession of the Sudetenland to Germany. Rumours had reached the Lithuanian government to the effect that Germany had specific plans to take over Klaipda. Britain and France told the Czechoslovak President Edvard Bene to hand over to Germany all territory with a German majority. The Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed nations at war to buy arms and other supplies from the United States as long as those nations sent aid the Great Britain. Barros, Andrew, Talbot C. Imlay, Evan Resnick, Norrin M. Ripsman, and Jack S. Levy. Ambassador to the United Kingdom and later supported a negotiated surrender to Germany during the May 1940 War Cabinet Crisis and the Battle of Britain. The policy of appeasement became increasingly attractive after the overwhelming destruction of World War I. Hitler invading Czechoslovakia was inevitable, but if Britain and Czechoslovakia had been aggressive, they would have been able to make Germany back down, and could also have outflanked them. Andrew Roberts, "'Appeasement' Review: What Were They Thinking? Appeasement was the right policy for Britain in 1938 as it bought the British time to build up its industrial capabilities and also to prepare the economy for war. This resulted in weak western governments and this allowed Hitler and other countries to take advantage and cause war. In my opinion, appeasement was the right policy for Britain in 1938. Under the Versailles Settlement, Czechoslovakia was created with the territory of the Czech part more or less corresponding to the Czech Crown lands as they had existed within [Austria-Hungary and earlier. 4) It's not unreasonable to believe other battle fronts would be sufficient to keep the enemy occupied, or simply that the enemy would stop and rest on what they had gained so far. Almost no country was able to afford to go to war at that point of time as they were rebuilding their infrastructure and economy which fell after The Great Depression and WW1. Rebuilding a strong economy was also necessary to survive the oncoming war to allow themselves to rebuild and rearm post-war. Chamberlain became President in 1937. 8, August 2009, "Twilight of Truth: Chamberlain, Appeasement and The Manipulation of the Press | Richard Cockett", "A quietening effect? Few saw appeasement as a good thing. [4], As alarm grew about the rise of fascism in Europe, Chamberlain resorted to attempts at news censorship to control public opinion. War was inevitable but delaying it was the correct move to prepare both the country and the people for war. Appeasement was the tactic used by the British Government when dealing with Hitler. How did appeasement lead to WW2? In December 1934, there was a clash between Royal Italian Army and Imperial Ethiopian Army troops at Walwal, near the border between British and Italian Somaliland, in which Italian troops took possession of the disputed territory, and about 150 Abyssinians and 50 Italians were killed. Historians' assessments have ranged from condemnation ("Lesson of Munich") for allowing Hitler's Germany to grow too strong to the judgment that Germany was so strong that it might well win a war and that postponing a showdown was in the best interests of the West. 1. Hitler's expansionist aims became clear in 1936 when his forces entered the Rhineland. No, it was a terrible and cowardly policy. Some people saw Communism as the biggest threat to European stability. I cannot myself doubt that these fellows are genuine haters of Communism, etc.! "Appeasement Reconsidered Investigating the Mythology of the 1930s" (Strategic Studies Institute, 2005), Roi, Michael. [97], Some commentators have suggested that some NATO countries are following the policy of appeasement towards Vladimir Putin's Russia by rejecting the support of Ukrainian democracy through military operations during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[98][99][100][101]. and reinterpreted these events. The policy appeared to be ineffectual when confronted by the aggression of dictators, notably Germany's Remilitarization of the Rhineland and Italy's Benito Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia. The League set up a commission of inquiry that condemned Japan, and the League duly adopted the report in February 1933. Lord Runciman was sent by Chamberlain to mediate in Prague and persuaded the Czechoslovak government to grant autonomy. Chamberlain returned to Britain and promised "peace for our time". Hitler's occupation of the Rhineland had persuaded him that the international community would not resist him, and it put Germany in a powerful strategic position. The overall effect of the appeasement policy would be that they would fare better in the war. Appeasement was not necessary in the first place, as Britain could challenge Hitler immediately at that time and Hitler will be forced to back down because he has to keep his promise of not starting a war that early, or he will start a war with far less support behind him, and Britain could have easily won. ", John Terraine, "The Spectre of the Bomber,", Walter Kaiser, "A case study in the relationship of history of technology and of general history: British radar technology and Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy.". [29], Lithuania secretly informed the signatories of the Klaipda Convention about those demands since technically, Lithuania could not transfer Klaipda without the signatories' approvals. Now, appeasement of Germany was a good thing for Britain and France because it allowed them to start rearming after their dearming after the Great War (WWI). I know hindsight is 20 20, and also that the lesson from history is appeasement didn't work in that case, and I haven't read anything recently on this to have a fresh perspective. Postponing the war was a bad thing because all it did was to give Hitler time to increase his power. This is true to a certain extent whereby many saw Hitler as a solution against communist through his actions such as persecuting them and making the communist the scapegoat. In 1961, the view of appeasement as avoidable error and cowardice was similarly set on its head by A.J.P. At that point of time, people were extremely disheartened post WWI and going into a new war will have a significant impact on civilians. The action was opposed by many of his advisers. Hitler, an Austrian by birth, had been a pan-German from a very young age and had promoted a Pan-German vision of a Greater Germanic Reich from the beginning of his career in politics. 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