Appeasement+of+WWI

 **Appeasement** One of the most notable examples of appeasement is the Munich Agreement, signed by the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy. The four nations agreed that the Sudetenland would be returned to Germany and that no further territorial claims would be made by Germany.1 Hitler eventually invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939, and in this, he broke the terms of the agreement. Instead of responding with force, Chamberlain refused to take the country to war over a quarrel in a far away land between people they would not benefit from in defending. He instead stated that if Hitler were ever to invade Poland, Britain would then intervene. The decline of the League did not only take down a symbol of fragile peace with it, but the United Kingdom and France were exposed as militarily weak and lacking in any motivation to defend the Versailles Treaty at threat of war.2 This is one of many examples of Britain and France appeasing to Hitler’s terms, in an attempt at avoiding war. In reality, appeasement encouraged war; it made Hitler think no one dare stop him, which encouraged him to go further and further with his power grab.3

Britain giving into Germany’s demands gave the opportunity to build up its army and gain land, and ultimately, Hitler was given the resources he needed to expand and gain more power. When Hitler first came to power in 1933, one of his main aims was to abolish the Treaty of Versailles and rearm Germany.4 He eventually achieved this goal by removing Germany from the League of Nations and began rearming the nation. By the policy of appeasement, Britain and other countries did not intervene with this rearmament although it violated terms of the treaty. These countries claimed that the terms of the treaty were too harsh, and a stronger army in Germany was likely to protect the rest of Europe from the spread of communism.

1 "World War Two Causes.” 2000-2009. History on the Net. 8 December, 2009. <  [] l>. 2 Rodgers. __20th Century World History: Course Companion__. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. p. 74. 3 Simkin, John. “World War Two.” 1997. Spartacus Educational. 6 December, 2009. < http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWleague.htm>. 4 __The Triumph of Hitler__. “Hitler Reveals War Plan.” 2009. The History Place. 2 December, 2009. < http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-hossbach.htm>.