15- Diplomacy in Europe (the policy of appeasement) Flashcards
What was the policy of appeasement and why was it employed in the 1930s?
- Britain and France took very little action against both Hitler and Mussolini during the 1930s.
- This policy of giving concessions in the hope of preventing war- is known as appeasement.
- Although you will be able to find evidence of ‘appeasement’ in action before 1937, the policy is closely associated with the British Prime Minister from 1937, Neville Chamberlain.
What historical controversy is there around the appeasement of Hitler?
- Some historians argue that the policy was weak and that in giving into expansionist states it fostered and encouraged the aggression which would ultimately lead to a general war in Europe in 1939.
- However, contemporaries and some historians also argue that the policy was positive, necessary and in seeking peace the ‘appeasers’ simply cannot be held responsible for causing war.
What are the criticisms of the the policy of appeasement?
- That it created ‘the unnecessary war’
- It encouraged Hitler’s aggression
- It led to Hitler invading Poland
Explain the argument that appeasement caused ‘the unnecessary war’
Sir Winston Churchill called World War Two ‘the unnecessary war’ which would not have taken place had Hitler been stopped earlier, for example in 1936 over the Rhineland and in 1938 over Czechoslovakia.
Explain the argument that appeasement encouraged Hitler’s aggression
The ‘appeasers’ were seen as weak, frightened men who were afraid to stand up to Hitler and failed to realise that they were dealing with a dictator. By consistently giving into Hitler’s demands they encouraged his aggression and alienated the Soviet Union.
Explain the argument that appeasment led to Hitler invading Poland
Appeasement also meant that Hitler gambled on that policy continuing when he invaded Poland – the trigger for war. the historian AJP Taylor in his book The Origins of the Second World War which was published in 1961, argued that Hitler did not have a clear plan on how he would carry out his foreign policy aims, and that he in fact reacted to the actions of the European Leaders.
What does the historian AJP Taylor say about appeasement and how it led to WW2
- In his book The Origins of the Second World War which was published in 1961, he argued that Hitler did not have a clear plan on how he would carry out his foreign policy aims, and that he in fact reacted to the actions of the European Leaders.
- ‘The Fascist dictators would not have gone to war unless they had seen a chance of winning’, wrote Taylor, ’..the cause of war was therefore as much the blunders of others as the wickedness of the dictators themselves’.
Arguments against appeasement (how it contributed to the outbreak of war in 1939)
- It encouraged and rewarded Hitler’s aggression
- It facilitated the growth, economically, militarily, and territorially, of Hitler’s Germany
- It strengthened the Axis powers
- It isolated and frightened the USSR
- It encouraged Mussolini to be more aggressive
- It led Hitler to believe that Britain would not take military action
- This eventually led to Britain changing policy and guaranteeing Poland and Hitler invading Poland on 3rd September 1939
How can the policy of appeasement be justified?
Britain and France were dealing with difficulties and constraints such as:
- The weak position of the British economy
- Br and Fr’s commitments to their colonies
- Public opinion concerning the horror of another war
- The injustices of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany
How does the historian Richard Overy justify the policy of appeasement
He argues that appeasement was the correct policy for Britain at the time, and Chamberlain forced Germany into a war sooner than it had planned for [the Hossbach Memorandum] and at a point when Britain stood a chance of resisting Hitler.
What were the potential gains for Britain and France of pursuing appeasement?
- Britain and France were not ready for war in the early and mid 1930s and were recovering from the Great Depression
- Public opinion supported appeasement; memories of the First World War were still vivid
- The policy bought time for Britain and France to rearm
- As democracies Britain and France had to persuade public opinion to support a war, and therefore appeasement demonstrated that Hitler could not be appeased or ‘satisfied’ through agreement and war was necessary
- Britain needed to persuade its Empire that war was unavoidable
What does the historian James Sheehan say about appeasement?
- In their efforts to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence, diplomats often must appease their opponents.
- It is also important to recognize that the alternative to appeasing Hitler in 1938 was fighting him.
- He was not bluffing, and the threat of war alone would not have stopped him.
Diagram showing appeasement as a cause of war
