Was the policy of appeasement justified? Flashcards
For:
1) Chamberlain believed that Britain was not ready for a war against Germany. He was also very worried about Germany’s allies, Japan and Italy. After conferring with British Army Generals, it was concluded that Britain would not be able to win such a war. Delaying conflict gave the UK time to strengthen their Navy, Air Force, and military.
2) Up until Hitlers invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1936, his European territorial requests had been very reasonable-many Brits thought the ToV was unfair and that Hitler was only using self-determination to his advantage.
3) If Britain went to war with Germany, they would have very little help. The USA was pursuing isolationism on the other side of the world and Britain’s commonwealth colonies such as Canada did not want to get involved either.
4) Social and economic issues plaguing Britain were deemed much more important than foreign policy affairs.
5) People thought that the USSR was a much greater threat than Germany. They feared communism and did not was to be on bad terms with them.
Against:
1) The policy of appeasement had only encouraged Hitler to pursue his ambitions, such as remilitarising the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria and the invasion of Poland.
2) These events, including the non-intervention treaty (1936) were Hitlers way of testing how far he could push France and Britain without a response.
3) Chamberlain abandoned his allies. Not only was this morally wrong, but a tactical blunder, too. This weakened his attempts to control Hitler, shown when he could not help chancellor Schuschnigg in 1938.
3) It forced him to sacrifice Czechoslovakia through the Munich agreement (September 1938). This forced him to leave the Sudetenland wide open for Hitler to attack later that year.
4) Chamberlain foolishly exaggerated Britain’s military strength, which gave Germany more U-boats and Submarines than he had initially planned.
