Neville Chamberlain, a national hero?

Question

Neville Chamberlain lost his closest cousin, and lived through the carnage of the Great war to end all wars. Was he not right to pursue peace to as far as it would go in the hope of avoiding an even greater horror that would slaughter civilian and soldier alike? Was he not right (like many other ministers) to accept that Germany had been treated harshly after WW1 and that certain consessions had to be made. Has history judged Chamberlain too harshly when as an old and sick man he went the extra mile for peace knowing the alternatives' where too horrific to imagine? In light of hindsight should this man not be considered a national hero, instead of being blamed for what Hitler turned out to be?

After all, David Lloyd George the great war leader WW1 found Hitler to be a likable fellow on his visit to the Berghoff in the late 1930s'.

Answer 1

He's definitely gotten short-shrift.  Since his Munich deal has gone wrong, 'appeasement' has been confused with 'negotiation.'

Answer 2

Chamberlain promised the president of Czechoslovakia that he would intervene if Germany invaded her.  When the Germans did invade Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain sold him out completely, deciding it was better to let a smaller, weaker state get raped by the n***s than live up to his agreement and stand up to Hitler.

Going the "extra mile" for peace sounds good, but when the other guys aren't interested in peace, it doesn't really do any good.

I'm not sure that weakness is the same as moral superiority.

Answer 3

Spartacus, A very important book, Hitler’s Spy Chief: The Wilhelm Canaris Mystety, was published in November, 2005. It received very little attention but it contained some very interesting new information about the relationship between the British government and n**i Germany.

The author, Richard Bassett, found some very interesting documents that helps to explain the peace negotiations that went on between the two governments. Bassett shows that in July, 1938, a powerful group from within n**i Germany that included Canaris, were on the verge of overthrowing Hitler because they feared war with Britain and France. The British government became aware of this plot. However, they were determined that Hitler should not be removed from power. The reason, they were expecting Hitler to destroy communism in the Soviet Union.

Bassett argues that this was the reason the Neville Chamberlain decided to fly out to meet Hitler the day before the German Army intended to invade Czechoslovakia. He had never flown before, took no interpreter and did not speak German. By doing a deal with Hitler over Czechoslovakia he prevented the coup from taking place. Hitler did of course eventually head east but because of the Labour Party and Conservatives led by Winston Churchill, Chamberlain’s backfired when the House of Commons forced him to declare war on Germany over Poland.

Spartacus, my impression of Chamberlain is, he thought so highly of himself that he felt he had estabished an "influential rapport" with Hitler and believed that "just one more concession" was all that was needed. This, plus some psychological factors and his anxiety about another WWI, seems to explain more than anything his hasty trip to Munich, paying obeisance to Hitler, etc........... He  sold out the Czechs and Slovaks and then (FINALLY) began to wake up when Hitler didn't keep his word about not interfering with the non-Sudeten remainder of Czechoslovakia. It's an interesting point, though, since the Munich agreement also put the western powers in a less defensible position militarily because it ceded (Sudeten) territories with defensive fortifications that would've been helpful later.

Another  interesting question.

Good luck my friend,

CATHORIO.

Answer 4

i thnik chamberlain's policy of appeasement at the munich conference caused ww2, if he had been firm, and said to hitler if you attack czecholovakia, or the sudetenland, or the rhineland, or the saar, or danzig, of poland, OR ANYTHING!, then Hitler would have stopped. Hitler himself said that if he had faced any opposition at the rhineland, he would have "had to withdraw with our heads between our legs",

and later, that "i never expected czechoslovakia to be served up to me by her friends". this is also why when chamberlain and daladier or france said if hitler invaded poland they would help it, he didnt believe them

Answer 5

Maybe. He should have held a tougher stance on the germans. Quite a few people knew Hitler would not stop after part of Czexhoslovakia was given up. He has been judged harshly because of his blindsided decision and Churchill because Churchill had to deal with the mess the followed.