reasons for appeasement Flashcards
intro
The 11th of November 1918 was Armistice Day, which was a ceasefire that ended hostilities between the Allies and Germany. Peacemakers aimed to prevent future wars on the scale of WW1, and so created the League of Nations. Germany felt resentment towards the Treaty of Versailles and that they were not allowed to take part in discussions involving peace treaties. In the early 1930s, Britain and the Allies feared Germany would declare war, which forced the introduction of appeasement.
lack of reliable allies K1
By 1913, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa had achieved complete independence in foreign affairs and were free to decide if they wanted to support Britain in a war. In 1937, during the Imperial Prime Ministers Conference, the PMs of Canada, Australia and South Africa stated they favoured appeasement and wouldn’t necessarily support Britain in a war.
lack of reliable allies K2
Fears that Britain could not defend her empire against simultaneous threats in Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, and the far east set in. in 1934 the Committee for imperial defence warned that Britain was not strong enough to fight Japan, Germany and italy together.
lack of reliable allies A+
as Britain had previously shown - at the outbreak of WW1 - itself willing to enter in a major conflict without the USA. moreover it is false to suggest the Britain would have fought Germany alone as Canada had given support for military action over Czechoslovakia.
public opinion K1
The peace pledge union 1936 showed over 100,000 men pledged to “renounce war and never support another”. the ppu had its own newspaper with a circulation of 22,000.
public opinion K2
During the fulham east by election in 1933 a conservative candidate who supported military rearmament saw a majority of 3,000 overturned into a majority of 7,000 for his pacifist labour opponent.
public opinion A+
it could be argued that the government, through the use of radios and newspapers, were able to shape public opinion themselves and that the public could have been encouraged to support what the government wanted.
economic difficulties K1
In 1918, the war cost Britain £7 million a day. By the 1920s, national debt was 11 times larger than it had been in 1914 - the interest payment alone used up much of the governments income.
economic difficulties K2
In 1929, the wall street crash occurred in the USA. The is had a major impact on global economies, including the UK. Unemployment rose as businesses struggled.
economic difficulties A+
it could be argued that appeasement damaged the British economy rather than helped it. a commitment to rearmament in preparation for the war would have generated billions of pound for the economy, the return of orders to heavy industries which had suffered during the great depression e.g shipbuilding and the return to work of millions who had been left unemployed.
