Causes Of World War 2

Chamberlain and appeasement

During the 1930s, Britain and France followed a policy of appeasement - they gave Hitler what he wanted in order to keep the peace.

Why appeasement?

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.

Sudetenland Timeline

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.
• Hitler and Chamberlain make an agreement

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.
• Hitler demands all of the Sudetenland

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'.
• Chamberlain waves Munich Agreement

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:

• The British people wanted peace - they would not have supported a war in 1938.
• Many of Hitler's complaints appeared reasonable at the time - especially about the Treaty of Versailles.
• Chamberlain wanted a strong Germany to serve as a barrier against expansion by communist Russia.
• Britain's armed forces were not ready for a war, and they could not have helped…