British Appeasement
After World War I Germany limped back, licking its wounds that the Treaty of Versailles had so mercilessly rubbed in salt. As one looks back on the events leading up to World War II it has to be asked whether France and England helped to start World War II by their actions at Versailles. It seems that the revenge that the Allies took at the Treaty came back to haunt them with the aggression of Hitler in 1936. However, we can not blame Neville Chamberlain for something with which he had no part. Chamberlain's actions in the years 1936 to 1939 are enough to help one appreciate the dilemma he found himself in. Chamberlain did not, in the beginning, realise exactly what Hitler was after. Hitler was after vengeance for Germany because of the Treaty of Versailles, but Chamberlain did not realise that Hitler was after domination of Europe. When confronted about Germany's plan to attack Czechoslovakia Chamberlain responded, "I think it would be wrong to assume that the German government has any intention of doing such." The eyes of the world were on Chamberlain's every move, criticising, praising, and waiting. With the pressure of the world on his shoulders Chamberlain proceeded cautiously not wanting the tensions to explode. Historic
It was true that France was not ready to help - but she collapsed in six weeks in 1940, and could hardly have done much worse in 1938. Also it was true that British aircraft production was behind German production and had improved by 1940. But Calvocoressi and Wint argue that if Germany had had to fight Czechoslovakia at the same time they could not have bombarded Britain from the air in 1938 in the same way as they did in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Calvocoressi and Wint point out that this is a reversal of British Foreign Policy. For twenty years she had avoided accepting responsibility for stability in Eastern Europe, but she was now accepting it. Appeasement was backfiring, as Chamberlain was getting in deep over his head and ended up having to defend Poland, which he had never been prepared to do. Britain would need the help of the USSR - Poland's eastern neighbour - to make the guarantee effective. So, Britain and France negotiated with Stalin throughout the summer of 1939 - four months of complicated diplomatic manoeuvres. Chamberlain wanted to present Hitler with a solid diplomatic front against him. But he really distrusted the USSR and had not much confidence in her military strength. Stalin played along as he wanted time and space. Eventually he opted for the pact with Germany as the best way of protecting his own interests. So this element of British foreign policy was gone. In fact the failure of the policy of appeasement to prevent war was shameful in that it was actually a cause of World War II. Lentin, A. Guilt at Versailles; Lloyd George and the Pre-history of
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Approximate Word count = 2399
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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