Interpretations - Appeasement Flashcards
what are the interpretations of appeasement?
- Popular majority
- Guilty Men
- Orthodox
- Revisionist
- Counter-revisionist
when was the Popular majority view around?
1937-8
what is the Popular majority view summarised?
Chamberlin had successfully avoided war
what factors influenced the Popular Majority view?
Impact of WWI on the British public.
who are the critics of the Popular Majority view?
- Churchill
- David Low
when was the Guilty Men view around?
during WWII
what is the Guilty Men view summarised?
appeasement was cowardly and immoral. it strengthened Hitler and meant Britain was left defenceless.
what are the key historians of the Guilty Men view and what do they believe?
- ‘Cato’ - published the book ‘Guilty Men’
- Winston Churchill
what factors influenced the Guilty Men view?
people feeling ashamed
Britain doing badly in the war
power struggle between Churchill (wanted to keep fighting) and Halifax (wanted peace)
when was the Orthodox view around? (appeasement)
1948 to the late 1950s
what is the Orthodox view summarised? (appeasement)
Churchills view from ‘Gathering Storm’. Argued that Chamberlin had misjudged Hitler.
what are the key historians of the Orthodox view and what do they believe?
Churchill - no one argued with him because of his fame
what factors influenced the Orthodox view?
Churchill’s self promotion - made it seem like he was the only person to oppose appeasement. this was so people would forget his election loss.
The cold war - wanted to send a message that Stalin shouldn’t be appeased.
when was the Revisionist view around? (appeasement)
1960s and 70s
what is the Revisionist view summarised? (appeasement)
Chamberlin did the best he could’ve done given the situation.
what are the key historians of the Revisionist view and what do they believe?
AJP Taylor - Hitler didn’t have a clear plan
Donald Cameron Watt - Hitler was just one of Chamberlin’s problems
David Dilks - appeasement was the best policy
Paul Kennedy - Appeasement was the best policy due to Britan’s problems
what factors influenced the Revisionist view?
Studies being carried out about Britans troubles at the time. these included: economic problems (debts from WWI and the depression)
when was the Counter-Revisionist view around? (appeasement)
late 1980s - early 1990s
what is the Counter-Revisionist view summarised? (appeasement)
Chamberlin was at least partially responsible for appeasement.
Chamberlin overrated his own ability, failed to understand Hitler, and ignored official advice.
what are the key historians of the Counter-Revisionist view and what do they believe?
Robert Parker
what factors influenced the Counter-Revisionist view?
Historical Debate - Historians need to disagree with earlier writers
New Soviet Sources - German documents became available.
