Why appeasement?

Chamberlain believed the Munich Agreement would appease Hitler

As the League of Nations crumbled, politicians turned to a new way to keep the peace - appeasement. This was the policy of giving Hitler what he wanted to stop him from going to war. It was based on the idea that what Hitler wanted was reasonable and, when his reasonable demands had been satisfied, he would stop.

Although historians recognise appeasement in the actions of Britain and France before 1938, the Sudeten Crisis of 1938 is the key example of appeasement in action. Neville Chamberlain was the British prime minister who believed in appeasement.

In 1938, Germans living in the border areas of Czechoslovakia (the Sudetenland) started to demand a union with Hitler's Germany. The Czechs refused. Hitler threatened war. On 30 September, in the Munich Agreement - without asking Czechoslovakia - Britain and France gave the Sudetenland to Germany.

The story of the Sudetenland

• 

  12-13 September 1938:

  • Hitler encourages Konrad Henlein, leader of the Sudeten Nazis, to rebel, and demands a union with Germany.
  • When the Czech government declares martial law, Hitler threatens war.
• 

  15 September 1938:

  • Chamberlain goes to see Hitler at Berchtesgaden.
  • Without consulting Czechoslovakia, he promises to give Hitler all the areas where more than 50 per cent of the population is German. Then he persuades France to agree.
• 

  22-23 September 1938:

  • Chamberlain goes to Bad Godesberg to tell Hitler about the decision, but Hitler now demands ALL the Sudetenland. Chamberlain refuses; it looks like war.
  • Chamberlain calls the crisis 'a quarrel in a faraway country, between people of whom we know nothing'.
• 

  30 September 1938:

  • At Munich, France and Britain agree to give Hitler the Sudetenland.
  • Chamberlain waves 'a piece of paper' with Hitler's statement that he does not want to go to war. German troops march into the Sudetenland, and are welcomed as heroes.

Reasons for appeasement

There were many reasons why Chamberlain appeased Hitler, but here are the main ones:

1. The British people wanted peace - they would not have supported a war in 1938.
2. Many of Hitler's complaints appeared reasonable at the time - especially about the Treaty of Versailles.
3. Chamberlain wanted a strong Germany to serve as a barrier against expansion by communist Russia.
4. Britain's armed forces were not ready for a war, and they could not have helped Czechoslovakia anyway.
5. Many people admired Hitler. In 1938, the American magazine 'Time' declared him 'Man of the Year'.
6. Chamberlain remembered the slaughter of the First World War; he thought another war would destroy civilisation.

Participants in the Munich Crisis

Five countries were involved in the Munich Crisis of September 1938. Click on the countries to find out more. Study this carefully.

Results of appeasement

Here are the main ones:

• Czechoslovakia was weakened. Poland and Hungary took other land.
• Britain gained a year to build up its armed forces, but so did Hitler.
• Hitler decided that Britain and France were afraid of him, and that they would not stop him whatever he did.
• Russia decided that Britain and France would never stand up to Hitler, and that war with Germany was inevitable.
• The people of Britain realised that they had been duped, and decided that war was inevitable.
• It improved the war morale of the British people, who knew they had done everything possible to avoid war.

Invasion of Czechoslovakia

German troops marched into Czechoslovakia on 15th March 1939

On 15 March 1939, German troops marched into Czechoslovakia. They took over Bohemia, and established a protectorate [Protectorate: Any state or territory protected and partially controlled by a stronger one. ] over Slovakia.

Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia was the end of appeasement:

• It proved that Hitler had been lying at Munich.
• It showed that Hitler was not just interested in a 'Greater Germany' (the Czechs were not Germans).
• On 17th March, Chamberlain gave a speech saying that he could not trust Hitler not to invade other countries.
• On 31st March, Chamberlain guaranteed to defend Poland if Germany invaded.

Why Chamberlain abandoned appeasement

Chamberlain made the Munich Agreement with Hitler to prevent war, but, in the year after September 1938, there were six factors pressurising him to abandon his policy of appeasement.

Two categories of factors

Revision tip

Read this famous statement by Neville Chamberlain broadcast on the radio on 27 September 1938. Looking at the reasons for appeasement in this section (page 3), which do you think weighed heaviest on Chamberlain's mind as he spoke?

How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is, that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here, because of a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing...

However much we may sympathise with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbour, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in war simply on her account. If we have to fight, it must be on larger issues than that. I am myself a man of peace to the depths of my soul; armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me... War is a fearful thing, and we must be very clear before we embark on it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake.

Neville Chamberlain

There is often no right or wrong answer to questions about appeasement, which is very much a matter of opinion. However, when you consider what is known for sure about Chamberlain's position, remember:

• Britain's armed forces could not have helped Czechoslovakia. Notice how Chamberlain calls Czechoslovakia "a faraway country" (point 4 in list of reasons for appeasement).
• Chamberlain remembered the slaughter of the First World War (6). This is the main point of the quote, especially "I am myself a man of peace to the depths of my soul; armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me... War is a fearful thing".
• It could be argued that he was empathising with the reluctance of the British people to go to war (1), when he called digging trenches and trying on gas masks "horrible, fantastic, incredible" and said: "...we must be very clear before we embark on it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake".

However, there is NO evidence that Chamberlain thought Hitler was reasonable (2), or that he wanted a strong Germany (3), or that he admired Hitler (5). In fact, the tone towards Hitler is hostile: "...we may sympathise with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbour".

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