Year 9Week 5: Monday 4th May: Why did the British government follow a policy of appeasement?

Learning Objectives• To know what we mean by the policy of appeasement• To understand the arguments for and against this policy• To be able to evaluate the policy of appeasementRecap Questions1. What action did Hitler take on 7 March 1936?2. What action did Hitler take at end of 1937?3. What action did Hitler take in September 1938?4. What promise did Hitler make to Chamberlain in September 1938?5. What did Hitler do in March 1939?

What is the policy of Appeasement?Last lesson, we saw that Britain did not do very much in response to Hitler’s actions in the 1930s. I’m sure many of you chose to take much more action, when you were considering your choices!

The way Britain responded to Hitler’s actions was known as the policy of Appeasement.

This was the policy that the British government followed in the 1930s. It involved giving Hitler what he wanted, to prevent him from harming Britain and in the hope that it would stop war. We know, of course, that this did not work!

Task 1: Below are 3 sources. Each of them give a reason why Chamberlain followed the policy of appeasement. Summarise each

reason, in your own words.

The man to the left is Neville Chamberlain. He was Prime Minister of Britain between 1937-1940.

Chamberlain is mostly remembered for his policy of appeasement towards Hitler.

Chamberlain is actual a local lad; he was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham in 1869! His father was Joseph Chamberlain, mayor of Birmingham. You may have heard of Joseph Chamberlain College.

Our big question, then, is was appeasement the RIGHT policy? This is something historians still debate about today! Many argue that Britain should have done something in response to Hitler’s Actions SOONER! You are going to develop your own opinion on this.

Task 2: Copy out the table below. Underneath you have a list of 11 statements. You need to decide if it is evidence that appeasement was the RIGHT or WRONG policy. You can just write the number. I have done 2 examples for you.

Appeasement was the right policy Appeasement was the wrong policy

1. Appeasement was right. It could have

brought about peace and it definitely

delayed the start of war so Britain could

re-arm.

Hitler wanted war anyway.

3. Appeasement was wrong. It helped to

cause the war by making Hitler think he could

do what he wanted. He pushed the British

because appeasement made him confident.

1. Britain needed time to re-arm2. The public feared another war and loss of life.3. It made Hitler more confident and encouraged aggression.4. Hitler had always intended to conquer Europe.5. Britain didn’t have enough money to fight another war.6. Britain feared communism more than Nazi Germany.7. Appeasement worried Stalin (leader of Russia). He didn’t think Britain would help him so started to

think of how he could work with Hitler.8. People thought the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh.9. It gave Germany time to re-arm.10. Britain wasn’t sure how much support its empire would give to a war.11. Germany became stronger every time it gained more land.

These are the statements which you need to sort; 1 and 3 have been done already.

Did Appeasement buy Britain time to re-arm?

A big justification for appeasement was that it gave Britain time to prepare for war. However, in the 1960s, a famous historian named AJP Taylor, claimed that this did not happen, and actually Britain could have went to war with Germany sooner. He argued that that appeasement actually gave Hitler and the Nazis time to build up their army and weapons, therefore making them more powerful.

Task 3: Complete the following using the graphs below.

1. Study graphs A-C below. What evidence do they provide to support the view that Britain’s armed forces caught up with Germany’s between 1938 and 1939? Write down some statistics.

2. What evidence do they provide to suggest Britain did NOT catch up with Germany? Write down some statistics.3. Do you think Appeasement did buy time for rearmament? Explain your answer.

On the left is a photograph of Neville Chamberlain (left) and Adolf Hitler (right) shaking hands in Munich, Germany on 29 September 1938. This is just one year before Britain declared war on Germany.

On the right is a photograph of Neville Chamberlain holding an piece of paper signed by Adolf Hitler, which contained an agreement. On 30 September 1938, Chamberlain landed in London, waved this piece of paper and said that he had achieved ‘peace for our time’. How wrong he was!

So what was this agreement? The Munich Agreement, September 1938

Last lesson, we saw that Hitler was behaving aggressively in the 1930s by invading countries like Austria. Britain looked on from a distance, but was reluctant to use aggression to stop Hitler.

Hitler wanted an area of Czechoslovakia, called the Sudetenland. The Sudetenland had a lot of Germans living there, who, Hitler claimed, wanted to become part of Germany. This was known as the Czech Crisis.

Chamberlain flew to Munich, in Germany, to try to discuss this issue with Hitler. Many British politicians did not want Hitler to have the Sudetenland and thought Britain should attack the Nazis if they tried to take it. But Chamberlain, desperate to avoid war, chose to follow his policy of appeasement.

Therefore, Chamberlain agreed to let Hitler take the Sudetenland, as long as he did not invade the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Chamberlain really believed he had achieved ‘peace for our time’. He thought that by giving Hitler what he wanted, Hitler would not try to take anything else!

Task 4: Go back to Lesson 4 and the timeline of Hitler’s actions. Answer the following question.

What did Hitler do in March 1939 and what does this tell us about the policy of appeasement?

Appeasement is always associated with the Munich agreement. It is at this point that many historians believe that appeasement had gone too far.

Watch this music video of The Beatles singing the song ‘We can work it out’. Your final task today is to explain how the lyrics in this song link to what you have studied today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyclqo_AV2M

Here are the lyrics, if you can’t watch the video!Try to see it my wayDo I have to keep on talking 'til I can't go on?While you see it your wayRun the risk of knowing that our love may soon be goneWe can work it outWe can work it outThink of what you're sayingYou can get it wrong and still you think that it's alrightThink of what I'm sayingWe can work it out and get it straight, or say good nightWe can work it outWe can work it outLife is very short, and there's no timeFor fussing and fighting, my friendI have always thought that it's a crimeSo, I will ask you once againTry to see it my wayOnly time will tell if I am right or I am wrongWhile you see it your wayThere's a chance that we might fall apart before too longWe can work it outWe can work it out

It is easy for us today, with hindsight, to say that Chamberlain was wrong to follow the policy of appeasement. We know it failed to keep peace. But, it was a difficult time for Chamberlain. The cartoon below shows his difficulties. Task 5: Answer the questions about the source.

What is Chamberlain trying to do with ‘the world’?

What does the bridge represent?

Why is the bridge breaking and what will happen if it does?

What is Chamberlain trying to take the world away from?

Why does Chamberlain have his sleeves rolled up?