Examine the main factors that lead Britain to follow a poilicy ofappeasment in the Period 1931- March 1938

Authors Avatar
Examine the main factors which lead British governments to follow a policy of 'appeasement' the period 1931- March 1938

There were many factors which led to British government following the policy of appeasement and they are split into two main categories- ideological and pragmatic. Britain appeased with Hitler for many reasons including their own problems and the pressure from other countries to appease.

The pragmatic reasons were those which caused Britain to appease because the fear of them losing the war. The economic situation meant that Britain did not have enough money to invest it in there military and air force so they would lose if there was an upcoming war. The public suffered the most in this period as the standard of living dropped dramatically and inflation was very high.
Join now!


The imperial dimension was also a key pragmatic reason to why Britain appeased. The self-governing regions of the British Empire were unwilling to go to war in the 1930s and wouldn't help Britain if they did so themselves. These included countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. They provided Britain with vital resources and most importantly support to other powers. There was fear that going to war may also break up the empire. So in this case, they had a valid reason for appeasing as they had no support and would have lost their empire.
...

This is a preview of the whole essay