[77] The spectre of appeasement was raised in discussions of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. [9][15] Nevertheless, the initial response of the British public to the Munich agreement was generally favourable. By taking on a policy of appeasement, it would justify to the people that all options have been exhausted before going to war. 59, No. [59] Even the left wing of the pacifist movement quickly began to turn with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, and many peace-balloters began signing up for the International Brigades to fight Franco. Appeasement was strongly supported by the British upper class, including royalty, big business (based in the City of London), the House of Lords, and media such as the BBC and The Times. Taylor argued that Hitler did not have a blueprint for war and behaved much as any other German leader might have. As someone mentioned, even at the end appeasement was a failure as it ended up with war. Some people saw Communism as the biggest threat to European stability. May it not be that our nations have learned something from that lesson?" It was a disaster. Hitler's occupation of the Rhineland had persuaded him that the international community would not resist him, and it put Germany in a powerful strategic position. However, the U.S. issued the Stimson Doctrine and refused to recognize Japan's conquest, which played a role in shifting U.S. policy to favour China over Japan during the late 1930s. Sudetenland was basically handed over to Hitler, along with all their modern defenses. "Debating British Decision-making toward Nazi Germany in the 1930s. To an extent it did bring some good to Britain by giving them more time to rearm and prepare for war. Appeasement came to be seen as something to be avoided by those with responsibility for the diplomacy of Britain or any other democratic country. Chamberlain's direct manipulation of the BBC was sustained and egregious. The League considered closing off the Suez Canal, which would have stopped arms to Abyssinia, but, thinking that would be too harsh a measure, failed to do so.[9]. The 1935 Anglo-German Naval Agreement had the Britain permit Germany to begin rebuilding the German Navy, including its U-boats, despite Germany having repeatedly violated the Treaty of Versailles. [30] However, it was made clear that force would be used should Lithuania resist, and Lithuania was warned not to seek help from other nations. "Few appeasers were really prepared to seek peace at any price; few, if any, anti-appeasers were prepared for Britain to make a stand against aggression whatever the circumstances and wherever the location in which it occurred". All materials are posted on the site strictly for informational and educational purposes! (agree) Based on the assessment of political will and military power if the other countries back in 1938, Britain and France were simply not ready for a war, and were unwilling to fight a war. The people were wary of another war and if they had not tried appeasement, the government would not have the full support of the people if a war broke out. Britain's establishment coalesced around appeasement and bared its teeth at those who dared to oppose it". Britain's army was too small and too weak. If they had been more aggresive against Hitler, they would have prevented war. Her book was a spirited defence of the Czech nation and a detailed criticism of British policy and confronted the need for war if necessary. By showing that appeasement was a popular policy and that there was a continuity in British foreign policy after 1933, he shattered the common view of the appeasers as a small degenerate clique that had mysteriously hijacked the British government sometime in the 1930s that had carried out their policies in the face of massive public resistance. In response, Japan resigned from the League and continued its advance into China, with neither the League nor the United States taking any action. The people of Britain and France would also be very unhappy had their government dare to oppose Hitler (which would increase to possibility of a war). I would seek to expound on this concept further below. [9] Many thought that the Versailles Treaty had been unjust, that the German minorities were entitled to self-determination, and that Germany was entitled to equality in armaments. Hitler blatantly violated the Treaty of Versailles, had an Anschluss with Austria which clearly showed that Hitler's interests was in the expansion and strengthening of Germany and re-militarized (which was clearly a challenge to Britain's position in Europe). He wrote in Mein Kampf (1924) that he would attempt a union of his birth country Austria with Germany by any means possible and by force if necessary. Czechoslovakia was told that if it did not submit, it would stand alone. After the German invasion of Norway, opinion turned against Chamberlain's conduct of the war. Historians have subsequently explained Chamberlain's policies in various ways. Vernon Bartlett, a critic of the Munich Agreement and member of Parliament, happened to be acting as a reporter in Godesberg, Germany when Chamberlain had met with Hitler. Appeasement was the correct path for Britain at the time. If Britain had taken more of a forceful stance, Germany may have been prompted to declare war on Britain anyway. I cannot myself doubt that these fellows are genuine haters of Communism, etc.! France was anxious to placate Mussolini to keep him away from an alliance with Germany. In January 1938, the Austrian Nazis attempted a putsch following which some were imprisoned. Keep the bluff up as long as possible, per se. Answers Learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Ideology and british appeasement in the 1930s. The 1945 United Kingdom general election was a national election held on Thursday 5 July 1945, but polling in some constituencies was delayed by some days, and the counting of votes was delayed until 26 July to provide time for overseas votes to be brought to Britain. question: Was appeasement the right policy for England in 1938? In 1938, Britain was still recovering from WWI after losing many soldiers and the military was weak. Rhineland, annexed Austria, and in September 1938, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia give Germany the, Sudetenland, a region with a heavy ethnic-German, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met, with Hitler in Munich to find a compromise over, The Munich Agreement (September 29, 1938), Sudetenland, and promised Germany would not, On March 13-14, 1939, Germany violated the. This in turn allowed for continued resistant against German aggression when Germany took control of the European continent. "The spirit of Ulysses? [96], Tibetan separatists consider the policy of the West towards China with regard to Tibet as appeasement. On 24 September, Germany issued the Godesberg Memorandum, which demanded cession by 28 September or war. Barros, Andrew, Talbot C. Imlay, Evan Resnick, Norrin M. Ripsman, and Jack S. Levy. This time has become known as the interwar years (from 1918 to 1939) in reference to the . October 1938. Answer the question above in essay form, with a minimum of 200 words. [32] The Soviets supported Lithuania in principle but did not wish to disrupt their relations with Germany since they were contemplating the German-Soviet Pact. Therefore appeasement bought time for Britain in the sense that Communist forces were weaken to a certain extent and would prevent substantial damage if Britain was to engage in a 2 front war ( ie. Was Appeasement the Right Policy for England in 1938? 2023 TidyLife, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The action was opposed by many of his advisers. No, despite Chamberlain's attempts at appeasement his failure to condemn and punish Hitler's consistent violations of the Treaty of Versaille somewhat encouraged it. At the time, in 1938, that seemed like the perfect solution for England to avoid any competition with Germany and remain within it's appeasement. Not only did his following grow with each shackle broken but so did his means of being able to wage a war as he was allowed to . They needed time to rearm themselves, or they would be overrun by the German army. U.S. President Harry S. Truman thus explained his decision to enter the Korean War in 1950, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden in his confrontation of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the Suez Crisis of 1956, U.S. President John F. Kennedy his "quarantine" of Cuba in 1962, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in his resistance to communism in Indochina in the 1960s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan in his his air strike on Libya in 1986, and U.S. President Donald Trump in the drone strike that led to the assassination of Qasem Soleimani in 2020. The prime minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, met with Adolf Hitler twice in 1938 to discuss Germany's aggressive foreign policy. Also, this policy was being carried out at a point of time where there was a slight chance of peace. [17] Chamberlain, therefore, returned to Britain and agreed to Hitler's demands. 3.They needed Germany to fight against communism. ny before it got too late. [36] More recently, however, historians have questioned the accuracy of that simple distinction between appeasers and anti-appeasers. [36] Anti-communism was sometimes acknowledged as a deciding factor, as mass labour unrest resurfaced in Britain, and news of Stalin's bloody purges disturbed the West. Czechoslovakia had a modern well-prepared military, and Hitler, on entering Prague, conceded that a war would have cost Germany much blood[26][22] but the decision by France and Britain not to defend Czechoslovakia in the event of war and the exclusion from the equation of the Soviet Union, which Chamberlain distrusted, meant that the outcome would have been uncertain. Chamberlain did not know the true intentions of Hitler at that time, and after the Sudetenland incident, Hitler promised that it was the last request for territory expansion. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Life of Lord Halifax (Phoenix, 1997), p. 282. Of course, it gave Britain time to re-arm. [52][53] In 1935, its pacifist leader, George Lansbury, resigned after a party resolution in favour of sanctions against Italy, which he opposed. Therefore, Britain tried their best to prevent a second world war, while allowing themselves to be more prepared in-case there is one. : all premiums paid and current) and your ex-husband is a named beneficiary on the policy then . CreateDebate is a social debate community built around ideas, discussion and democracy. To forestall Hitler and to preserve Austria's independence, Schuschnigg scheduled a plebiscite on the issue for 13 March. Minh - Yes, it was the right policy. Many people believed to Germany had been treated too harshly under the Treaty of Versailles. They thought that Germany could act as a buffer, especially as Hitler was very anti-Communist. Frequent question: How much snow does London get in a year. I think it was the best policy at that time in Britain despite the many failures after the appeasement because the fact that even if they were to deploy their army at that point in time in retaliation, there was a slim chance that they could have won against Germany who had air forces which were very devastating as shown during the Spanish civil war. Almost no country was able to afford to go to war at that point of time as they were rebuilding their infrastructure and economy which fell after The Great Depression and WW1. They would not have time to rearm, But without time to rearm and immediately going to war, they have more to lose due to their weak defence and they could have lost the whole country instead of some parts of the land around them. Appeasement was the right policy considering the people's attitude to war. Churchill delivered a tribute to him in which he said, "Whatever else history may or may not say about these terrible, tremendous years, we can be sure that Neville Chamberlain acted with perfect sincerity according to his lights and strove to the utmost of his capacity and authority, which were powerful, to save the world from the awful, devastating struggle in which we are now engaged". posted Apr 2, 2017, 7:52 PM by 750394@tritonstudents.org . [22] Baldwin rejected their sense of urgency and declared that he would not get Britain to war with anybody "for the League of Nations or anybody else" and that if there were to be any fighting in Europe, "I should like to see the Bolshies and Nazis doing it". Something from that lesson? under the Treaty of Versailles appeasement the right policy for England in?! Haters of Communism, etc. this policy was being carried out at a point of time where was! And the military was weak been exhausted before going to war which demanded cession by 28 September war!, Norrin M. Ripsman, and Jack S. Levy army was too small too... To European stability something to be more prepared in-case there is one cession 28. To war the diplomacy of Britain or any other German leader might have military was weak Norway, turned! ] [ 15 ] Nevertheless, the Austrian Nazis attempted a putsch following which some imprisoned! 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