Appeasement

AppeasementThe diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by

making concessions to an aggressorAppease – to bring to a state of peace and quiet

Recap: Aggression in the 1930s Japan conquers Manchuria and invades China in 1937 Italy invades Ethiopia and conquers it by 1936Germany reoccupies the Rhineland in 1936Germany occupies Austria in 1938 Germany demands the Sudetenland in 1938Munich Agreement signed in September 1938March 1939 Germany invades the rest of CzechoslovakiaThe League of Nations, Britain and France do

virtually NOTHING

Neville ChamberlainPrime Minister of Britain

from 1937 to 1940Reputation as a tough

politicianLittle foreign policy

experience prior to becoming Prime Minister

Best known for his appeasement policy

http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/appeasement.html

Reasons for British Appeasement

War-WearinessIt had been less than 20 years since the War to

End All WarsThe British Public did not want another warThey had suffered great losses during World War I

Approximately 100,000 killed Approximately 1.7 million injured

“peace at any price”

War ReadinessDepression still taking its toll across the worldWar is expensiveBritain could not afford to rearm They needed more time“We cannot foresee the time when our defence

forces will be storng enough to safeguard our trade, territory and vital interests against Germany, Italy and Japan at the same time”British Chiefs of Staff 1937

Threat of Communism“Our government is much more afraid of

Communism than it is of Fascism” British Journalist 1936

Britain under Chamberlain saw Hitler and Mussolini not as dangerous fascists, but as strong patriotic leaders

These strong leaders were actually seen as a deterrent to the spread of Communism across Europe

German GrievancesMany British politicians believed that Germany

had genuine grievances with the Treaty of Versailles

The Rhineland was Germany’s “backyard” they should be able to have full control

They also agreed to the occupation of Austria and the Sudetenland National self determination

Trust in Hitler Chamberlain believed that by appeasing Germany and Italy they

would be content with the negotiated concessions Hitler promised he would not invade the rest of Czechoslovakia,

Chamberlain believed him The Sudetenland is “the last claim I have to make” claimed Hitler He lied

“I can well understand the reasons why the Czech Government have felt unable to accept the terms which have been put before them in the German memorandum. Yet I believe after my talks with Herr Hitler that, if only time were allowed, it ought to be possible for the arrangements for transferring the territory that the Czech Government had agreed to give Germany to be settled by agreement under conditions which would assure fair treatment to the population concerned”

Neville Chamberlain, 1939“However much we may sympathize with a small nation

confronted by a big and powerful neighbor, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in war simply on her account. If we have to fight it must be on larger issues than that. I am myself a man of peace to the depths of my soul. Armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me; but if I were convinced that any nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by fear of its force, I should feel that it must be resisted. Under such a domination life for people who believe in liberty would not be worth living; but war is a fearful thing, and we must be very clear, before we embark upon it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake, and that the call to risk everything in their defense, when all the consequences are weighed, is irresistible.”

French AppeasementWar-weariness

Approximately 1.7 million killed, 4.3 million injuredWanted peace just as much as BritainFrance was struggling through the depression1934 a riot took place which led to the fall of the

French governmentInternal political strife led to strikes, and many

changes in government

Canadian AppeasementPrime Minister King supported Chamberlain in his

policy of appeasementBelieved that war could be avoided by giving into

Hitler and Mussolini’s demandsCanadian did not want to relive the war either

When the Munich Agreement was signed in 1939 King send a message to Chamberlain thanking him on behalf of the Canadian people for his “unremitting efforts for peace”

United States IsolationismAfter World War I the U.S. favored a policy of

isolationism, they did not want to be involved in European or Asian conflicts

U.S. did not enter the League of NationsRefused to be entangled in wars that had nothing to

do with them

As Japan, Italy and Germany began to take territory and commit acts of aggression the U.S. expressed concern but issued no formal statement

United States IsolationismAmerican President Franklin Delano Roosevelt expressed his

desire to become more involved in international affairs, hoping to curb aggressive behaviour

In 1937 Roosevelt compared international aggression to a disease that other nations must “quarantine”

But isolationist movements in the country were strongAmericans did not want to go to warEven at the outbreak of war in 1939 some Americans

supported limited aid to the Allies with no military involvement

Pearl Harbor in 1941 changed all of this

What was appeasement all about? Two CampsAppeasement was

possibleBy giving in to the

demands of Hitler and Mussolini the world could avoid war

Appeasement worth trying but war was inevitable

The allies needed more time to prepare for war

Appeasement was a stall tactic

Opponents of AppeasementWinston Churchill

Critical of Germany and HitlerArgues that faster British rearmament could have

deterred Hitler and that a readiness to stand up to Hitler in certain situations was necessary

Churchill was one of only a few who spoke out against appeasement

Why did appeasement fail?Was a failure to understand extreme German

nationalism and its potentially endless demandsConcessions only fueled Germany’s desire to

expandIt was also wrongly assumed that Hitler was a

reasonable man, that the world could do business with him

Failure to grasp the speed and dynamism of Hitler’s policies and actions