A policy of making concessions to an aggressor in the hopes of avoiding war. Associated with Neville Chamberlain's policy of making concessions to Adolf Hitler.

Referring to the image by the Daily Sketch:

This front page of The Daily Sketch was issued in September 1938, less than one year before the outbreak of WWII. The article reports that the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, had signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler, a document aimed at preventing war with Germany. This policy was known as ‘appeasement’.

The journalists presented Chamberlain as a hero, celebrating the fact that he was 'refusing to bow to fatigue, refusing to give way to discouragement.’ The idea of bowing to Hitler's demands may seem amazing to us today. But many people in Britain at the time believed that reaching an agreement would help to pacify Hitler, thus avoiding another war.

World War I was still very much alive in the nation's memory, and many members of the public wanted desperately to avoid another war. The Munich Agreement (Refer to the video below for more info) gave Germany parts of Czechoslovakia in return for ‘peace’. Despite these efforts, war broke out one year later and after six years of war, the Nazis were defeated.

*Credits: British Library Archives

For years, Hitler had targeted the Soviet Union and the Communist Party as Germany’s primary enemy. Joseph Stalin held similar views of Germany and the Nazi Party. 

To the surprise of almost everyone, the two dictators announced a nonaggression pact on August 23, 1939. The two men agreed that;

• their countries would not to attack each other, either independently or along with other nations

• vowed to consult each other in order to provide information or raise questions concerning their common interests and also to resolve any differences through negotiation or arbitration. 

The pact would be in effect for ten years, with an automatic extension for another five years unless either party gave notice to end it.

Why Did Hitler Want the Pact?

Germany's participation in a two-front war in World War I had split its forces, weakening and undermining their offensive strength. Adolf Hitler was determined not to repeat the same mistakes. While he'd hoped to acquire Poland without force, the necessity to diminish the possibility of a two-front war as a consequence of the invasion was clear.

Why Did Stalin Want the Pact?

The pact followed the breakdown of British-Soviet-French negotiations for a tripartite alliance in early August 1939. According to Russian sources, the alliance failed because Poland and Romania refused to accept the passage of Soviet military forces across their territory; but it is also true that Russian premier Joseph Stalin mistrusted British prime minister Neville Chamberlain and the Conservative party in England, and believed they would not fully support Russian interests.

Click on the site on the right side to watch a video on Germany's invasion of Poland.

To summarise, the invasion of Poland triggered the deadliest conflict in human history, otherwise known as the WWII. Millions died and wounded during the war. It was only after more than 6 years later that Germany was defeated in the war which it had started.