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Appeasement
Jeff Spoden
Introduction
The dictionary defines appeasement as the attempt to bring about peace, quiet, ease, or calm. In history, however,
the word usually has to do with a specific event: the unsuccessful effort by British prime minister Neville
Chamberlain to appease Adolf Hitler to avoid World War II. Today, people often bring up appeasement as an example
of failure. They call Chamberlain a weak leader who was fooled by Hitler. Many believe that if Chamberlain had not
tried to appease the German dictator, the war might have been avoided. Chamberlain should have taken a tough
approach from the beginning, they say.
Neville Chamberlain holds up the Munich Agreement, signed by himself and Adolf Hitler in 1938.
As he read the contents of the agreement, the crowd cheered him. Public domain.
It is true that Prime Minister Chamberlain did little to stop German aggression after 1935. So did the leader before
him, Stanley Baldwin. At that time, people still remembered the bloody First World War. Few in Britain or France
were willing to risk yet another devastating war with Germany. However, many Brits also believed that the Treaty of
Versailles had been unfair to Germany. Sure, Hitler had broken the treaty. He boosted Germany’s armies and moved
troops into the Rhineland area. This area was supposed to be free of soldiers. Still, the British thought the moves
were fair. Many even preferred fascism to the sort of communism beginning in Stalin’s Soviet Union. So, in the
mid-1930s, appeasement was a very popular policy for Europeans. The hope was that agreeing to limited German
expansion would satisfy Hitler.
Chronology of Appeasement
But Hitler continued to violate the Treaty of Versailles. He began invading Germany’s neighbors. People in Britain
and France grew concerned. Many spoke against German expansion. Still, the British and French governments took
no serious action. Here’s a chart of each German move and the British and French appeasement that followed:
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Table 1: Chronology of Appeasement
When German Action British and French Appeasement
1935
Publicly announced that Germany would rebuild
its military.
There is little response, and many in Britain and
France praise the action.
1936
Sent troops into the Rhineland, a demilitarized
zone between Germany and France/Belgium.
France lodged a complaint with the League of
Nations. Britain said that it was not in a position
to back France in a conflict with Germany.
March 1938 The Anschluss, or “unification” of Germany and
Austria. Hitler demanded that Austrian Nazis
be put in power or Germany would invade.
These Nazis “invited” German forces in, held an
election, and 99.7% of voters chose to unify the
two countries.
The reactions in Britain and France were mild.
Chamberlain said: “The hard fact is that nothing
could have arrested [stopped] what has actually
happened in Austria unless this country and
other countries had been prepared to use force.”
April 1938
Nazis in the Sudetenland, a part of
Czechoslovakia with many Germans, demanded
autonomy from the Czech government. Hitler
claimed that these people were being brutalized
and sent 750,000 troops to the German/Czech
border.
Britain sent a representative to Prague and
convinced the Czech government to grant
autonomy to the Sudetenland Nazis.
August 1938
German generals sent a letter to Britain claiming
that they were going to initiate a coup against
Hitler, but they wanted a guarantee that Britain
would fight if Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia.
Chamberlain ignored the letter, believing that
Britain and Nazi Germany were “the two pillars
of European peace and buttresses against
communism.”
September 1938
Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland not only
become independent of Czechoslovakia, but that
it be absorbed into Germany.
Chamberlain believed that defending the
Sudetenland would require the invasion of
Germany, which neither Britain nor France
wanted to do. He agreed to Hitler’s demand and
told the Czech government that it must give
Germany any territory with a German majority.
Late September 1938
Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia cede
(give up) lands to Germany or face invasion.
He agreed to meet with the leaders of Britain,
France, and Italy.
Britain and France informed the Czech
government that it must give the Sudetenland
to Germany immediately or stand alone. The
Munich Agreement was signed, officially giving
the Sudetenland to Germany. A peace treaty
was also signed between Germany and Britain.
Chamberlain returned home and announced he
had secured “peace for our time.”
August 1939
Hitler told his commanders something to the
effect of, “Our enemies have leaders who are
below the average. No personalities. No masters,
no men of action… Our enemies are small fry. I
saw them in Munich.”
Chamberlain basically replies, “I know you are,
but what am I?” and Edouard Daladier, prime
minister of France, offers something like, “I’m
rubber, you’re glue. What you say bounces off
me and sticks to you.”
1
September 1939
Germany invades Poland. Britain and France both declare war on Germany
and the most awful war in human history begins.
1 Not their exact words, but you get the idea!
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Voting ballot from Austria in April 1938. Translation: “Referendum and Greater German Parliament; Ballot;
Do you agree with the reunification of Austria with the German Reich (empire) that was enacted on
13 March 1938 and do you vote for the party of our leader; Adolf Hitler?; Yes; No”. Public domain.
Chamberlain in the Rearview Mirror
Looking back now, it seems obvious that appeasement
was a bad method. To many, Chamberlain allowed the
spread of Nazism across Europe. But at the time, this
was far from obvious. Until the war started, many French
and British citizens wanted their leaders to do anything to
keep them out of another war. They hoped that, if they
gave Hitler what he wanted, he would be satisfied and
they might avoid war. When Germany invaded Poland,
however, many realized that conflict was going to
happen. At that point, the public started to judge
Chamberlain’s appeasement harshly.
Appeasement was favored by just about everyone
in Europe until late 1939. However, it has come to
represent failure.
The Specter of Appeasement
Since World War II, some politicians have even used
Chamberlain’s failed appeasement to justify conflict.
Some examples are below.
Winston Churchill gives the “V” for victory sign in 1942.
Public domain.
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Jeff Spoden
U.S. President Harry Truman, writing about his
decision to go to war in Korea in 1950:
I remembered how each time that the democracies
failed to act, it had encouraged the aggressors
to keep going ahead.... If this was allowed to go
unchallenged it would mean a third world war, just
as similar incidents had brought on a second world
war.
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson spoke about Vietnam.
He said that America would stand up to Ho Chi Minh and
the Vietcong political group. It would be done in a way
that Chamberlain had not stood up to Hitler and the Nazi
government, Johnson hinted.
Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of England
from 1979 to 1990. Someone criticized Britain’s
involvement in the first Iraq war. She responded: “I
seem to hear the stench of appeasement in here.”
Hans Magnus Enzensberger wrote for the Los Angeles
Times just before the first Gulf War. He said that talk of
Saddam Hussein as a new Hitler is no “exaggeration.”
Enzensberger said people should not underestimate
Hussein’s dangerousness.
Using Hitler and appeasement as a reason for war
certainly grabs one’s emotions. Many modern-day
“villains” get compared to Hitler. However, none of them
are anywhere near as harmful as he was. Critics say
that comparing dictators to Hitler over and over is false
and dangerous. The worry is that it overlooks the real
threat Germany posed to the world. The comparison can
be used to start a war that may not need fighting. For
example, the quotes above made Saddam Hussein out
to be the next Adolf Hitler. In fact, his country couldn’t win an eight-year war with its neighbor Iran. Nor did he pose
a threat to the entire world. Iraq’s army was nowhere near as powerful as that of 1930s Germany. There was little
evidence to suggest that Hussein would use that power beyond his immediate neighbors. Still, many people called
him a madman. Anyone who disagreed with going to war with Hussein was called weak like Chamberlain. This
thinking helped launch two questionable wars.
Conclusion
It seems that as wars continue, Neville Chamberlain will remain the great historical wimp. People use his story
to spark fears and justify conflict. But more recently, many historians have tried to show him in a new light. The
background reasoning behind his actions was at least understandable, they believe. Perhaps this historical project
to explain Chamberlain’s thinking is good. It may help begin a real debate about the main differences between
negotiation and appeasement. Maybe we can learn more about what was happening in Europe during the 1930s and
from the failures.
British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain leaving number ten
Downing Street for Germany where he intends to hold peace talks
concerning the Czech crisis with Adolf Hitler. © Getty Images.
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Sources
Enzensberger, Hans Magnus. “Perspective on Saddam Hussein: Like Hitler, His Enemy is the World.” Los Angeles Times.
February 14, 1991. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-14-me-1357-story.html
Sidey, Hugh. “Decision of Mind and Experience, Not of Heart and Hope.” Life Magazine. July 8, 1966. https://books.google.com/
books?id=oFUEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Thatcher, Margaret. “House of Commons Statement.” October 30, 1990. Margaret Thatcher Foundation.
https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108234
Truman, Harry S. Memoirs by Harry S. Truman, Volume 2: Years of Trial and Hope. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1956.
Updegrove, Mark K. “Lyndon Johnson’s Vietnam.” The New York Times. February 24, 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/opinion/lyndon-johnsons-vietnam.html
Jeff Spoden
Jeff Spoden is a retired social studies teacher, having been in the classroom for 33 years. He taught US history, world history,
sociology, international relations, and history of American popular music. He loves music, film, travel, the Golden State
Warriors, and the number 32.
Image Credits
Cover: Neville Chamberlain seen here at Heston Airport after returning from his summit meeting with the German Chancellor
Adolf Hitler in Munich. Prime Minster Chamberlain holds a paper signed by Hitler and himself and declares to the waiting crowd
“ Peace in our time “ 3rd October 1938. © Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Neville Chamberlain holds up the Munich Agreement, signed by himself and Adolf Hitler in 1938. As he read the contents of the
agreement, the crowd cheered him. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MunichAgreement.jpg
Voting ballot from Austria in April 1938. Translation: “Referendum and Greater German Parliament; Ballot; Do you agree with
the reunification of Austria with the German Reich (empire) that was enacted on 13 March 1938 and do you vote for the party of
our leader; Adolf Hitler?; Yes; No”. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stimmzettel-Anschluss.jpg
Winston Churchill gives the “V” for victory sign in 1942. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Winston_
Churchill,_cigar_in_mouth,_gives_his_famous_%27V%27_for_victory_sign_during_a_visit_to_Bradford,_4_December_1942._
H25966.jpg
British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain leaving number ten Downing Street for Germany where he intends to hold peace
talks concerning the Czech crisis with Adolf Hitler. © David Savill/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images.
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