Chamberlain's Policy Of Appeasement example essay topic

The term appeasement is used to describe the response of Western European governments to the expansionist activities of Germany and Italy under Hitler and Mussolini in the 1930's. Their attitude was to prevent war at all cost by giving the aggressive countries what they wanted provided there were not too unreasonable. Britain adopted the policy of appeasement, by just tying to appease Hitler, but in fact it made him to be more aggressive. There were two distinct faces of appeasement. From mid 1920 until 1937 there was vague feeling that war should be avoided at all cost. This made Britain and France to accept the various acts of aggression and breeches of Versailles (Manchuria, Abyssinia, German re-armament and the reoccupation of the Rhineland).

When Chamberlein became the British prime minister in may 1937, he gave appeasement new drive, he believed in taking initiatives he would be able to find what Hitler wanted and reasonable claims would be met by negotiation rather than force. Appeasement had so few critics and aroused no massive public hostility because as a policy it was well in tune with the public mood of the thirties. British government seemed to be supported by strongly pacifist public opinion. In February 1933 the oxford union voted that it would not fight and this made Baldwin and his National government won a huge election victory in November 1935 after he declared: ' I give you my word of honor that there will be no great armaments.

The horrors of the First World War were much written about and were still a bitter personal memory for many civilians. The civil war in Spain revealed the future horrors of aerial bombardment of civilian targets, for it was not just Baldwin who believed the bomber would always get through. In any case the burdens of unemployment and the enormous National Debt seemed to undermine any hope of resolute action in foreign policy. There was also a general feeling that Germany might have been harshly treated at Versailles and that on certain issues, for example the re-occupation of the Rhineland, might have quite a good case according to the British government. Appeasement prevailed however because the political leadership of Britain and her leading advisers favoured it or indeed saw no alternative to it. The key figure was Neville Chamberlain.

He fully shared the public horror at the thought of the destruction, which another war would bring, and therefore expensive, defense and foreign policy would distract from pressing problems at home. He was a decent man who held a sincere belief that reasonable negotiation and goodwill could overcome the diplomatic problems of the day. In any case there was no thinkable alternative. Some historians think Chamberlain's policy of appeasement made little sense. After all, Hitler made no secret of his aim to dominate Europe and the world. He was a ruthless person who was prepared to use war to achieve his evil ends.

In consequence the only correct policy was to stand firm against him at the earliest opportunity. Historians argue that appeasement simply made Hitler to grow more aggressive, and encouraged him to make fresh demands. Germany grew stronger and more dangerous. However, after 1935 Germany could not have been challenged without the risk of a long and bloody war, a war for which Britain was unprepared to do and which she might not win. Britain had little to gain even from a successful war; it would also be expensive, it and would seriously damage Britain's economic position. Appeasement reached its climax at Munich, when Britain and France were so determined to avoid war with Germany that they gave Hitler Sudetaland as a present and this set the destruction of Czechoslovakia.

Britain really wanted not to risk war with Germany because Britain was going through a serious economic crisis and could not afford a vast re-armament and the crippling of expenses of Great War. Since the League of Nations seemed helpless, Chamberlein believed that the only way to settle the disputes was a personnel contact between leaders. In this way he would be able to control and civilize Hitler and Mussolini. Britain helped the German economy to recover, so the Germany's internal violence would be solved. There was a great fear of communism in Britain and the British politicians were wiling to ignore he unpleasant of Nazism in the hope that Hitler's Germany would be buffer against communism expansions to westwards. Some historians argued that appeasement was the main cause of second world, and had a profound effect on the way the international relations developed.

Although it might have worked with Germany, but according to Hitler it was doomed to failure. Appeasement convinced Hitler of the complacency and the weakness of Britain and France. Appeasement was mainly a British policy, which French did not always agree. Hitler continued his aggressiveness, until very late in the thirties, when Britain decided to abandon the policy of appeasement because it was not able to stop Hitler, even after getting away with sudetaland. Chamberlain was the most honorable of the appeasers, in 1930's, and was not lacking courage. His views would not have prevailed if they had not had the support of the vast majority of the politically powerful and had not caught the public mood.

British. British and France declare war on Germany in September 1939 when Hitler tried to invade Poland, which was under their protection. Mohamed Bill.