Lesson 4 - Was appeasement the right policy?

​The policy of appeasement was the policy of making concessions to the dictatorial powers in order to avoid conflict, as carried out by Anglo-French foreign policy during the 1930s. 

•   It was the wrong policy because it encouraged Hitler. Chamberlain’s critics say that it simply encouraged Hitler’s gambling. They claim that if Britain or France had squared up to him at the start, he would have backed off. Peace would have been secured.

•   It was the right policy because Britain was not ready for war. Chamberlain’s defenders say it was the only policy available to him. They say that to face up to Hitler Chamberlain had to be prepared to take Britain into a war. All the evidence available to Chamberlain told him that Britain was not ready. Public opinion was against it - his own civil service advisers had told him this. Important countries in the empire were against it. The USA was against it. And most importantly, Britain’s armed forces were not ready. They were badly equipped and had fallen far behind the Germans. 

Activity 2 - Consider the following sources. To what extent do they support the view that appeasement at Munich bought the UK valuable time? 

Activity 3 - Contrast these sources. How do they provide different contemporary views of the policy of appeasement? 

Other Appeasement information that we need to look at about the topic

1.  Why Appeasement?

If only…we could sit down at a table with the Germans and run through all their complaints and claims with a pencil, this would greatly relieve all tension.

Chamberlain, speaking unoffficially to Anthony Eden in 1937.

You have only to look at the map to see that nothing we could do could possibly save Czechoslovakia from being overrun by the Germans.

Chamberlain, writing to his sister in 1938.

How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.

Chamberlain, speaking in a radio broadcast about the Sudetenland crisis, 27 September 1938.

A clever plan of selling off your friends in order to buy off your enemies.

A comment in the British newspaper, The Manchester Guardian, February 1939.

Nowadays, when we use the word 'appeasement', we take it to mean: 'giving in to a bully'.   Consequently, many people have criticised Chamberlain for appeasing Hitler.

This is not quite fair, because in the 1930s, the word 'appeasement' meant what we would today call 'negotiation'; Chamberlain, realising that 'collective security' had failed, tried to negotiate peace with Hitler. 

There were many reasons why Britain 'appeased' Hitler in the 1930s.   Historians have ascribed every possible motive to Chamberlain - sheer abject cowardice, that he was duped by Hitler, that it was a noble attempt to prevent bloodshed, that he was buying time for Britain to re-arm... and many others!

The five most important reasons, however, were:

1. Some British people approved of Hitler's policies.

2. The British people hoped that a strong Germany would stop the growth of Communist Russia.

3. Many people felt that events in Europe were not Britain's business.

4. Many British people wanted peace.

5. Many British people agreed with Hitler that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair.

2.  Opinions of Appeasement?

Who in their right mind believes we should even try to placate the monsters responsible for the atrocities of September 11th, 2001?

Terrorists see negotiations as a sign of weakness and a lack of resolve.   Though the 'peace protestors' mean well, they... are the same type of people who sought to appease Adolf Hitler.

A modern American on the web at http://www.9-11justice.org/

He was writing after the Al-Qaeda atrocity in America which destroyed the World Trade Centre, killing nearly 3000 people
- after which the United States declared a 'war on terrorism'.

 In the 1930s, there were some people – most notably Winston Churchill – who opposed his policy.  But at the time, most people thoroughly agreed with Chamberlain, and praised him.

Source A

Give thanks to your God.  Your children are safe.  Peace is a victory for all mankind.  If we must have a victor, let us choose Mr Chamberlain.

A comment in The Daily Express, about the Munich agreement, October 1938.

Source B

It is a total defeat.  Czechoslovakia will be swallowed up by the Nazis.  And do not suppose that this is the end.  This is only the beginning.

Churchill, speaking about the Munich Agreement in 1938.

Activity 5 - The Abyssinia 1935 Role Play.