1. Appeasement

2. What is appeasement?
The policy of granting concessions to potential enemies to maintain peace.

3. Examples of Appeasement
Germany leave the L of N - start to rearm in secret
Anglo-German Naval Agreement, Abyssinian Crisis, German announces conscription.
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
(March) - Anschluss
(September) - Sudetenland crisis and the Munich agreement
Germany take over the rest of Czechoslovakia
Britain and France abandon appeasement and guarantee to defend Poland

4. FOR appeasement
Sympathy for Germany -> ToV too harsh -> Each step justified -> Believed Hitler would be satisfied
Threat of communism -> Unable to protect Czech. And Poland -> Feared Stalin’s communist tyranny -> Which was greater threat?
Desire for peace -> Avoid another war -> LoN – Collective security -> Great depression lingering
Time to re-arm -> Britain unready to fight -> Re-armament only began in > Just enough to survive in 1939

5. AGAINST appeasement
Misjudged Hitler -> Treated rationally -> Believed he was open to reasoned agreement/compromise -> Believed Hitler would be satisfied -> Did not see truth until too late -> More they gave him, more he demanded
Missed chances to stop Hitler -> 1936 – Rhineland – Military action by French would have meant German withdrawal -> Abandoned Czechoslovakia which could still have offered large resistance as well armed/defended
Morally wrong -> Allowed Germany to break internationally rules unpunished -> Meaningless promises in return for fate of Czechoslovakia -> Word for weakness and cowardice

6. What happened because of appeasement?
Europe saved from war? Possibly -> some historians believe that if the Czechs, French, British and Russians had stood up to Hitler he would have been defeated, and would have faced war on two fronts
Czechoslovakia was abandoned, and weakened by the loss of important military defences and resources
Germany gained the Sudetenland - another step towards the Greater Germany.
Britain and France gained time to build up their armed forces, but so did Germany
Hitler decided Britain and France were unlikely ever to oppose him by force
Stalin was offended at being excluded from the talks and decided he could not rely on Britain to help the USSR stand up against Germany -> Nazi/Soviet pact