Why leaders chose appeasement

G2 Elective History - syllabus K230, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can explain how leaders, governments and the League took steps that led to World War II.

    Syllabus K230, War in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Learning Outcomes. Explain the roles played by individuals and groups in developments leading to the outbreak of World War II.

Make a guess

Britain gave way to Hitler at Munich in 1938. What do you think Britain was doing with its armed forces at the same time?

  1. Building them up, while still trying to avoid war.
  2. Sending them to defend Czechoslovakia's border.
  3. Cutting them, to show Hitler it meant peace.
Show the answer

Building them up, while still trying to avoid war.

Britain rearmed while it negotiated. Avoiding war in 1938 bought time to prepare, though Germany gained time too.

Britain and France gave way to Hitler because they feared another war, but each gain made Germany stronger and bolder.

Why did Britain and France give way? The huge losses of the First World War made another war terrifying. Economic problems and doubts about military readiness encouraged caution. People also feared air raids that could kill many civilians. Some British people thought parts of Versailles were unfair, and that reasonable changes might satisfy Germany. Chamberlain hoped that personal negotiation could build lasting cooperation.

Britain kept rearming, building up its armed forces, while it negotiated. Avoiding war in 1938 gave it more time to prepare. But Germany also gained time, along with land, resources and Czechoslovakia's defences. Each gain won by pressure encouraged Hitler to expect more. So a policy meant to avoid war could weaken resistance to aggression.

Winston Churchill, a British MP, or member of Parliament, criticised appeasement. He also wanted peace, but argued for deterrence: discouraging an attack by making it look too costly or likely to fail. So the debate was about how to keep the peace, not whether war was good.

Sort these

Mark it like an examiner. Chamberlain told the Commons on 3 October 1938 that Munich had saved Europe from war. Two days later Churchill called it a total defeat. The question: having read Chamberlain, are you surprised by Churchill? Sort each answer into its level.

Groups: Level 1: provenance only, Level 2: compares the content, Level 3: checks against other evidence, Level 4: explains the speaker's purpose.

  • I am not surprised. Chamberlain spoke to defend his own deal, while Churchill, its leading critic, spoke to persuade MPs to reject it.
  • I am not surprised, because both speeches agree that Britain must keep rearming.
  • I am surprised. Chamberlain says Munich prevented a terrible war, but Churchill says it was a defeat that left Czechoslovakia exposed.
  • I am not surprised. Churchill was the best-known critic of appeasement, speaking in the Munich debate to turn MPs against Chamberlain's policy and towards deterrence.
  • I am not surprised, because Churchill's words were spoken in Parliament.
  • I am surprised, because both men were British Conservative MPs in 1938.
  • I am not surprised, because Churchill was proved right: Czechoslovakia had lost its border defences and Germany seized Prague in March 1939.
Show the answer

Level 1: provenance only

  • I am not surprised, because Churchill's words were spoken in Parliament. It reasons from where the speech was made, without comparing what the two men said or why.
  • I am surprised, because both men were British Conservative MPs in 1938. Being in the same party does not prove they agreed. This uses who they were with no content at all.

Level 2: compares the content

  • I am not surprised, because both speeches agree that Britain must keep rearming. It finds a real point of agreement but misses the main clash over Munich, so it stays at content matching.
  • I am surprised. Chamberlain says Munich prevented a terrible war, but Churchill says it was a defeat that left Czechoslovakia exposed. It compares what the two speeches say, but stops at the difference without testing either claim.

Level 3: checks against other evidence

  • I am not surprised, because Churchill was proved right: Czechoslovakia had lost its border defences and Germany seized Prague in March 1939. It tests Churchill's claim against what happened next, but does not explain why Churchill said it in October 1938.

Level 4: explains the speaker's purpose

  • I am not surprised. Chamberlain spoke to defend his own deal, while Churchill, its leading critic, spoke to persuade MPs to reject it. It explains both speeches by their speakers' aims in the same debate, which is the top level for surprise.
  • I am not surprised. Churchill was the best-known critic of appeasement, speaking in the Munich debate to turn MPs against Chamberlain's policy and towards deterrence. It explains the speech from its origin and purpose: who spoke, to whom, and what he wanted to achieve.

A fair judgement first explains the pressures leaders faced, then tests the results. It should not assume that a different policy would definitely have stopped Hitler.

Why appease
Fear of war, weak economies, unready forces, fear of bombing.
Cost
Germany gained land, resources and time.
Churchill
Argued for deterrence instead.

Real examples to use

Fear of bombing, 1937

On 26 April 1937 German and Italian aircraft bombed the Spanish town of Guernica, killing hundreds of civilians. Many in Britain feared the same for London.

Naval deal, 1935

Britain's own Anglo-German Naval Agreement accepted German rearmament beyond Versailles, showing it would revise the treaty by negotiation.

Munich, September 1938

Chamberlain gave way on the Sudetenland to avoid war; six months later Hitler took Prague anyway.

Worked example: Separate aim from result

A student writes: Chamberlain wanted peace, so appeasement succeeded.

  1. Aim: wanting peace explains why he negotiated.
  2. Short term: Munich avoided war in September 1938.
  3. Long term: Germany grew stronger and kept expanding, so peace did not last.

Watch out for this

Rearming shows Chamberlain was not really trying to avoid war.

He negotiated to avoid war and rearmed in case talks failed. Both were part of his policy.

Check your understanding

What did Churchill argue instead of appeasement?

  1. That Germany should get the land it asked for.
  2. That Britain should attack Germany straight away.
  3. Deterrence: make an attack look too costly to try.
Show the answer

Deterrence: make an attack look too costly to try.

Yes. He also wanted peace, by a different route.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • A public commitment to consultation

    Anglo-German declaration signed by Hitler and Chamberlain, 30 September 1938, as read in Chamberlain's House of Commons statement on 3 October. Paraphrase of the declaration, not the whole speech.

  • Chamberlain defends Munich

    Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister, addressing the House of Commons, 3 October 1938, after returning from Munich. Paraphrase of passages on the agreement, Czechoslovakia, future peace and rearmament.

  • Churchill challenges the settlement

    Winston Churchill, Conservative MP and critic of the government's appeasement policy, speaking in the House of Commons, 5 October 1938. Paraphrase of passages on deterrence and Czechoslovakia.

  • A record of Hitler's private discussion

    Colonel Friedrich Hossbach's memorandum, dated 10 November 1937, recording Hitler's meeting with senior military and foreign-policy officials on 5 November. Paraphrase of the recorded discussion; the memorandum is not a word-for-word transcript.

  • Munich Pact, 29 September 1938, clauses 1-4

    Munich Pact, dated 29 September 1938 and signed by Germany, Britain, France and Italy in the early hours of 30 September. Paraphrase of clauses 1-4; Czechoslovakia was later represented on the implementation commission.

  • a cartoon about Munich, October 1938

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a British newspaper cartoon by a critic of appeasement, published in early October 1938, days after the Munich Agreement. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.

  • Munich Pact, 29 September 1938, clauses 1-4

    Extract from the agreement signed at Munich by Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, dated 29 September 1938 and signed in the early hours of 30 September. Czechoslovakia was not represented at the conference. Text from the Avalon Project (English text as published by the British government).

  • Chamberlain in the House of Commons

    Extract from Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's statement in the House of Commons, 3 October 1938, opening the debate on the Munich Agreement. Hansard, House of Commons, 3 October 1938. Parliamentary copyright, reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.

  • Churchill in the House of Commons

    Extract from Winston Churchill's speech in the House of Commons debate on the Munich Agreement, 5 October 1938. Churchill was a Conservative MP and the best-known critic of the government's policy. Hansard, House of Commons, 5 October 1938. Parliamentary copyright, reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence.

  • a record of Hitler's secret meeting

    Extract from the memorandum by Colonel Friedrich Hossbach, Hitler's military adjutant, of a secret meeting between Hitler and his foreign minister and military chiefs on 5 November 1937, dated 10 November 1937. It was written from memory, not as a word-for-word record, and was used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials. English translation from Documents on German Foreign Policy, published by the US State Department; text from the Avalon Project.

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