Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Main factors that led british government to follow a policy of appeasement in the period 1931-1938.

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Main Factors That Led British Government To Follow A Policy Of Appeasement In The Period 1931-1938 The impact of the Great War was a major factor in the pursuit of the British government's policy of appeasement during the 1930's. The Great War created many problems for Britain and the desire to avoid another war was never stronger. Britain had experienced severe economic and financial difficulties arising from the war; the disruption caused to the world's markets caused further problems in 1929, which carried on into the late 1930s (Britain were left �15 bn. in debt after WW1). Appeasement was justified by the belief that the treaty of Versailles was harsh on Germany. ...read more.

Middle

Furthermore two years later the Peace Pledge Union, pacifist organisation, conducted a poll that showed that 92.5% of those questioned (around 10 million people) favoured universal disarmament; this was showing the clear desire of the people in 1935, that never again did they want war and did not support any military action. Especially since the German bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica, murdering 1,600 men, women and children. This brutal bombing sent shock waves around the world; citizens of Britain feared that if war occurred British cities would also be laid to waste by German bombers, especially since the British air defences were unprepared, in September 1938 the Royal Air Force was equipped with only 6 squadrons of the new Hurricane and Spitfire fighters; new radar stations were also in the process of being built. ...read more.

Conclusion

So in this way Britain chose to appease during the Munich agreement to try and avoid a war over the Sudetenland; after all this is what the people wanted. This choice to appease gave Britain the vital time to rearm preparing its people for war emotionally and time to prepare its armed forces. As they realised they would not just be fighting Germany, but Japan and Italy as well, since they were a danger to their empire and British interests, especially in East Africa and the Far East. So Britain chose to follow appeasement in this way as they lacked the will, the money and the power. Word count: 602 words Mihir Desai Candidate Number: History Coursework Centre Number: ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related AS and A Level International History, 1945-1991 essays

  1. Lion Led By Donkeys

    This shows that he wasn't given much help, so to blame the high death toll of the battle on the generals would not of been fair as there was not much mote, they could of have done without the help from the French.

  2. The Prelude to the 1975 War and the Cairo Agreement.

    The force of the explosion [12,000 pounds] ripped the building from its foundation. The building then imploded upon itself. Almost all the occupants were crushed or trapped inside the wreckage." Just 20 seconds after the Marine explosion another bomb was rammed into the French headquaters 2 miles from the Marine compound killing 58 French Paratroopers.

  1. American History.

    to get goods they couldn't produce themselves, with the spread of canals and railroads, they began producing crops and goods for cash sale in nat'l and internat'l markets. - The division of labor, combined with increasing mechanization, new financial methods and transportation caused tremendous expansion in the economy, which prompted more improvements, and so on.

  2. Reasons for the increasing support given to NSDAP by the German people in the ...

    heading for bankruptcy and the farmers threatened with a fall in agricultural pricing." Chancellor Br�ning and the right wing had grown radically anti-republican and they drove Germany into even greater depression, causing the German masses to loose confidence in the republic.

  1. Why did hitler bomb british cities?

    'A raid could come at any time'. The war caused a massive shock to the working body of Britain. The country was forced to make dramatic changes to the way it ran. The change meant women had to work, (mainly in factories, but also on farms etc.).

  2. Was Chamberlain's policy of Appeasement the best policy to follow in 1938?

    If Britain had have decided to go to war with Germany and all Hitler had wanted to do is restore Germany then it would have been a huge waist of money and lives. Chamberlain could not afford to make this mistake.

  1. Examine the main factors which led British governments to follow a policy of 'appeasement' ...

    Also after the First World War, Britain owed the USA �1.365 billion and the national debt had risen to �7.435 billion. Britain knew that its dominions, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, wouldn't support her if she went to war and its allies such as France, who were thought to be unreliable and to have had an unstable government.

  2. What factors have prompted democratisation in Argentina?

    Overvaluation of the currency and lowering of tariffs led to massive bankruptcies, the fall of real wages, the growth of the informal sector of the economy, and open unemployment. From 1976-1981, the size of the industrial working class decreased by 26%.'9 The problem was that the facility with which banks

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work