Was Appeasement the right policy at the time?

Question

I just want to know if Appeasement was the right policy at the time and what evidence is there to back up your opinion.

Thanks heaps.

Answer 1

Was Appeasement the right policy at the time?

You have not stated wht time you are refering to!

Answer 2

No, it was not the right policy. Hitler was not a man you could appease. Any sign of weakness only encouraged him. History shows this, any accomodation they made for him, the exceeded until it led to war. However, while it may not have been the right policy, it was the only practical one. England and France were not ready for another war. And they would never have gotten the public support necessary if they came across like the aggressors. So they had to stall for time and try to get ready. Unfortunately, they didn't work hard enough at getting ready, and Germany moved faster than they expected.

Answer 3

Hmmm - - - at the expense of the ordinary citizens of Czechoslovakia who faced torture imprisonment rape and other abuses at the hands of the n***s  - - - - Appeasement allowed Britain time to retool factories for war.  Had Britain gone to war in 1938 it would have been the reliable yet slower less maneuverable Hurricanes versus the new Messersmitt 109 rather than in 1940 the new Spitfires against the slightly older 109 s.  In 1938 Britain did not have large numbers of 4 engine bombers capable of flying deep into Germany by 1940 they had a few more...  Etc & Etc, thus appeasement worked for Britain though it did nothing For France since the French lacked a cohesive policy for dealing with Germany but that is a complicated story.

Peace/////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\...

Answer 4

Take a look at Telford Taylor's "Munich: The Price of Peace" about some of the assumptions which surrounded the British decision making that incorporated the concept of appeasment,particularly military assuptions relative to the timing of any possble war.  Looking back is always easy (not, as often asserted, 20/20--you should see much better than average).  Well written history, and Taylor's book clearly qualifies, is able to explain things from the foundation as comprehended at the time of the decision.

Answer 5

They pursued appeasement because the memories of the first world war were relatively fresh and they world was still dealing with the depression.  In hindsight, it was a mistake since it emboldened Hitler to pursue his quest for power and european domination.

Answer 6

No Appeasement wasn't right at the time because ww2 happened anyway. Maybe if Britain and France had of taken a harder line then ww2 wouldn't have happened, or at least in the West anyway. I do agree with one of the previous answers that Britain wasn't ready for war at that time so this probably explains Chamberlain's policy of appeasement.

Answer 7

I fear Bearstir is slightly off mark.  It takes years to develop a new fighter plane.  The Spit didn't just happen over night and having worked on the Spit, I can assure you that it is NOT field maintenance friendly, even after all of the bugs were worked out of the original design.  England was not in the process of retooling as this person suggests, rather, England was in a serious (and almost fatal) state of denial.  The English had banished Churchill from government and so, he sat back, writing news paper editorials, foretelling of the evils of Adolf Hitler.  This time period Churchill referred to as "The Wilderness."

Appeasement did not work for anyone in Europe.  It saw disaster for many.  For those who chose that selfish act, it brought about the fall of more than one country and the near fall of at least one other.  If appeasement is such a great and effective tool, then why pray tell, did Chamberlain resign in such haste?  The King was none too pleased and the world paid a horrible price.

As a parent and a great studier of history, I will stand firm in my belief that there is never a right time for appeasement.  Like issuing an ultimatum, the act of appeasement will only bring more trouble later.

Answer 8

Not according to Churchill, whose contrary position carried the majority in the House of Commons, and lead to a change in British leadership after Munich's agreement to accomodate HItler's expansion plans.

"And do not suppose this is the end," he warned. "This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in olden time."

Having thus fortified myself by the example of others, I will proceed to emulate them. I will, therefore, begin by saying the most unpopular and most unwelcome thing. I will begin by saying what everybody would like to ignore or forget but which I must nevertheless be stated, namely, that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat, and that France has suffered even more than we have . . . .

We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude which has  befallen Great Britain and France. Do not let us blind ourselves to that. It must now be accepted that all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will make the best terms they can with the triumphant n**i Power. The system of alliances in Central Europe upon which France has relied for her safety has been swept away, and I can see no means by which it can be reconstituted.

The road down the Danube Valley to the black Sea, the resources of corn and oil, the road which leads as far as Turkey, has been opened. In fact, if not in form, it seems to me that all those countries of Middle Europe, all those Danubian countries, will, one after another, be drawn into this vast system of power politics - not only power military politics but power economic politics -- radiating from Berlin, and I believe this can be achieved quite smoothly and swiftly and will not necessarily entail the firing of a single shot....

I do not grudge our loyal, brave people, who were ready to do their duty no matter what the cost, who never flinched under the strain of last week. I do not grudge them the natural, spontaneous outburst of joy and relief when they learned that the hard ordeal would no longer be required of them at the moment; but they should know the truth. They should know that there has been gross neglect and deficiency in our defences; they should know that we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road; they should know that we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when the whole equilibrium of Europe has been deranged, and that the terrible words have for the time being been pronounced against the Western democracies.

"Thou are weighed in the balance and found wanting."

And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning.This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.

http://www.churchill-society-london.org....