Neville Chamberlain, Britain’s prime minister, felt that Germany was treated unfairly after WWI, and that they had grievances/complaints that needed to be addressed. Neville believed that if he catered to demands of Hitler and Mussolini, Britain could avoid another European war. Q: Have you ever appeased somebody to get what you want or stop someone from getting what he/she wants? I want to scratch Hitler’s Back!

*This policy became known as “appeasement”, which is defined as “the policy of granting concessions (giving people what they want) to potential enemies to maintain peace.” (The old bully in the lunchroom scenario!!!)

US has the same response at first to Hitler that Europe has – just appease and let be…

Overall, communism was dreaded more (by capitalists) than Nazism. Even though Chamberlain feared Hitler, he feared communism and revolution more. Hitler was the “lesser of two evils”. Communism was detested because it destroyed established order, caused famines, Red Terrors, as well as fear and violence among people of different nationalities.

Soon after the end of WWI, a strict leader named Benito Mussolini set up authoritarian/fascist rule in Italy.

In 1935, a border dispute between the Italian Eritrea and Ethiopia caused Italy to invade and attack Ethiopia without an official declaration of war. This went against what the League of Nations stood for and they quickly declared Italy an aggressor. In response to this, the League simply lifted the minor sanctions they had placed on Italy, but did not take any truly effective action. Their true concern at the time was with Germany, not Italy.

Germany refused to pay reparations under the “War Guilt Clause” in : Along with military expansion, Hitler also began to rearm his country, which put military hardware at high demand (only supposed to have 100,000!). Hitler creates the air force (Luftwaffe). (Against treaty of Versailles)

Hitler also sent troops into Rhineland (western border by France) in Hitler supported Franco (Spanish Fascist/Nationalist) in Spanish Civil War. Interesting enough, the Allies did nothing in response.

After Hitler became chancellor, demand grew for the unification of Austria and Germany. On March 13 th, 1938, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, head of the Austrian Nazi Party, asked the German Army to occupy Austria. The uniting of Austria and the new German Republic was called Anschluss, and it was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.

Czechoslovakia had become a nation in It was birthed out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was full of ethnic diversity: 3,200,000 Germans 7,450,000 Czechs 2,300,000 Slovaks 720,000 Magyars 560,000 Ruthenes 100,000 Poles

The Germans in Czechoslovakia created the Sudeten Germans Peoples’ Party, which demanded that their western region (Sudetenland) be put under German control. The Czech government denied them; the SGPP gained Hitler’s support. Negotiations were made during three separate conferences over the placement of Sudetenland.

The Munich Conference: Sept 1938 was the third of the three meetings held to negotiate who the territory should go to. The leaders of Britain, Italy, France and Germany who met here, decided that Sudetenland be given over to the Germans immediately…without consulting the Czechs.

The Czechs were told that if they wanted to keep the territory, they would have to fight Germany alone. On October 1 st 1938, Czech frontier guards abandoned post and the German troops now occupied the Sudetenland. By March 1939: Hitler takes the rest of Czechoslovakia and by Sept. 1939: WORLD WAR II BEGINS!!!!!!!!!

The treaty violations, the Czech crisis, the Anschluss, and the actions that Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were taking all planted the roots for WWII. Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement was not as successful as he had hoped, for once again Britain and the world were on the road to war…

1.) How did Mussolini challenge the League of Nations, and what was the response? 2.) List several ways that Hitler violated the treaty of Versailles. 3.)What was the Anschluss, and the Czech crisis? 4.) What happened at the Munich Conference? 5.) What is appeasement? What did the fear of communism have to do with the policy of appeasement?