Paper 1 - historiography question about appeasement Flashcards
When was the well done chamberlin view?
in 1938
What was the well done Chamberlin view?
that appeasement was good and Chamberlin gave peace a chance
What was going on at the time of the well done Chamberlin view?
Briton was not ready to go to war
could not fight Hitler
no support from abroad
at the time people still had bad memories of WW1 and di not want to go to war
When was the guilty men review?
1939 - 1948
what was the guilty men review?
appeasement was foolish, cowardly and immoral
it strengthened dictators and weakened Britain
What was going on at the time of the guilty men review?
Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and many people felt ashamed of appeasing Hitler at Munich
War was going badly - we were losing
When was the orthodox view?
1948 - 1960
what was the orthodox view?
appeasement was a misjudgement but based on good motives
Chamberlin was a good guy with good intentions but he miscalculated Hitler
what was going on at the time of the orthodox view?
Churchills view became the orthodox view
cold war made people see appeasement as wrong - as the USSR grew in strength
Churchills thought the USA needed to stand up to Stalin
when was the rehabilitating Chamberlin view?
1960 - 1990
what was the rehabilitating view?
Chamberlin was in an impossible situation and did the best job he could
appeasement is not that bad
what was going on at the time of the rehabilitating Chamberlin view?
new British sources - released in the late 60s showed the issues faced by Chamberlin: economic, military capability against Germany, USA isolationism so no support guaranteed, public opinion, concern over the stability of the British empire
the Vietnam war showed what could happen if a country could not appease - the USA did not like appeasement.
when was the Chamberlin back on track view?
1990 - present
what is the Chamberlin back on track view?
Chamberlin’s personality and assumptions meant he could not deal with the situation
he failed to understand Hitler and overrated his own ability, ignored advice
what was going on at the time of the Chamberlin back on trial view?
some historians did not agree with the rehabilitating Chamberlin view
new soviet sources became available at the end of the cold war and German sources the=at the soviet union had taken
