Appeasement

The term appeasement still carries negative connotations associated with the failure of Britain and France to contain Adolf Hitler's Germany and stop the onset of war. Appeasement was a respectable term almost until the outbreak of World War II, signifying the pursuit of peace. Many believed World War I had been an avoidable conflict caused by an arms buildup and lack of understanding between nations of their grievances. Accordingly, appeasement was the policy of the British and French governments with respect to German and Italian territorial ambitions.

Italy aimed to take over Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in Africa; Germany laid claim initially to the demilitarized Rhineland, then to Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Many believed that Germany had been harshly treated in the Versailles Treaty and, though they did not trust Hitler, felt that German claims over the Rhineland were reasonable. When Hitler's troops entered (under orders to withdraw if France responded), he was asked to negotiate, and he proposed a nonaggression pact, though no such pact was ever signed. The Sudetenland had a [Page 26]large German population and Sudetenland Nazis demanded autonomy that was virtually granted by the Czech government. However, this did not satisfy the Nazis, and Germany began to demand that the Sudetenland be incorporated into Germany.

In September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain negotiated directly with Hitler in a meeting in Munich with the leaders of France (Édouard Daladier) and Italy (Benito Mussolini). A peace treaty was signed between Britain and Germany, allowing Chamberlain on his return a famous photo opportunity, flourishing a paper and claiming “peace for our time.” After more concessions to Germany, Britain finally declared war on September 3, 1939, after Germany had entered Poland 2 days earlier. The fate of the term appeasement was sealed.

The appeasement of Germany has been blamed on Chamberlain personally, but the policy was popular at the time, and historians now argue that there was little other course for Britain than to try to contain Hitler, though France and the United Kingdom could have taken a stronger line at certain times. Britain did rearm during the 2 years before the outbreak of war, so alongside appeasement went the policy of preparing for war. Modern historians thus look much more favorably on Chamberlain and his policies than did those in the immediate postwar period, though appeasement as a concept will probably never regain its once positive connotations.