Rearmament in Britain also meant that a lot of money was needed in this process. In 1938, both Britain and France were still suffering from the effects of the Depression. They had huge debts and high unemployment, and were not strong enough to bear the costs of re-armament. The Labor Party wanted to spend more funds on housing and social care, and not rearmament. This was what they needed to work on because there was great poverty in Britain which they needed to deal with. They needed to make sure that the British’s needs were met before they could carry start the war. Because of the economic circumstances, Britain needed to avoid a large-scale conflict such as beginning a war with Germany.
On the other hand, appeasement exposed the League of Nation’s weakness and cowardice. The amount of time and effort spent on creating the Treaty of Versailles, an international agreement, was to no avail, as they were allowing Hitler to break the treaty easily, and even giving Czechoslovakia back to Germany in return for broken promises from Hitler. The aim of the League of Nations was to stop war, improve people’s quality of lives and jobs, disarmament and enforce the Treaty of Versailles. The continuous process of appeasement proved that the League of Nations could not keep up to their words, exposed their weakness and that they were not trustworthy. In addition, if they had not let Hitler take Czechoslovakia, they could have had stronger resistance to the German’s attack, as Czechoslovakia was a well-armed country.
Another reason why it was justified was because of the anti-war mindset of the population. It must be understood that appeasement was extremely popular both with politicians and the general public at that point of time. The anti-war mindset and the lack of support was not only prevalent in the Britain’s empire, but also in the Commonwealth states and the USA. Chamberlain, leader of the British Empire, as well as the British people vividly remembered the horrific experiences of the First World War. They wished to avoid another war at almost any cost. In other words, they were mentally unprepared for a second world war. The Americans were determined to be isolationists, meaning that they refused to take part in another war, and France was also unprepared for another war. The critical factor was that Chamberlain was not a dictator like Hitler. He could not start a war as he pleased without the support of the people and until in 1939, most people opted for peace at almost any price. Without any support from the British population, the United States, the Commonwealth States, and France, Britain could not be ready for a war. Even if Britain had gone to war over the Rhineland, most of the population would have opposed to war. This was because most people in Britain at that time were still sympathetic towards Germany and thought that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair and too harsh and that Germany had a right to be treated as a great power. Hence in 1935, they were comfortable with signing the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and when Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936, there was a feeling that he was just ‘marching into his own backyard’. When Anschluss took place in 1938, the Austrians which were largely consisted of Germans anyway, were simply achieving the self-determination that denied them at the Treaty of Versailles. Britain could never have won the Second World War with doubt on the home front. Appeasement meant that, when Chamberlain did eventually declare war, the British people went to war knowing that they had done everything in their power to maintain peace, and that they were rearmed and ready for war. On top of that, many people, particularly the younger generation, still believed in the League of Nations and its assertion that quarrels could be ended by negotiation.
Nevertheless, the continuous stream of appeasement encouraged Hitler to be more aggressive. It allowed Hitler to think that he could do anything he wanted, and in this view, it actually aided the cause of the Second World War. It was obvious that with each gamble or risk that Hitler was taking and got away with, in turn encouraged him to take a bigger risk. The appeasers made a critical mistake of treating Hitler as they would treat others, as a rational politician who was opened to reasonable arguments and negotiations. They were too naïve, and trusted Hitler’s words and promises. They had not realized until too late, that they were dealing with a determined and devious man who would see each compromise or appeasement as hints of weaknesses. The more that was given in to Hitler the more confidence it gave him to take bigger risks to demand more.
The mutual agreement in standing up to Communism was another reason why appeasement took place and why it was justified. At that point of time, Hitler was not the only concern of Britain and its allies, in fact, they were not worried about Hitler, but rather the spread of Communism and the dangers that Stalin was bringing to the world. Many saw Hitler as a defendant in the threat of spreading Communism. What was worse was that Germany was actually incapable of protecting countries like Czechoslovakia and Poland from attack because they were quite far away. The only great power that could protect these countries was Stalin, but they hated and feared Stalin’s communist rule. Nonetheless, the fact that Britain appeased Hitler meant that it abandoned millions of Austrians and Czechs to the vicious Nazi terror. This also meant that they lost trust of everyone including their allies. It sent the message to everyone that Britain and France would not stand in Hitler’s way of his wrong-doings.
Hitler promised that Sudetenland was the last territorial claim he would make, and this was the one reason that Chamberlain claimed for appeasing Hitler. However, at that point of time in 1938, they should have realized that all Hitler was doing was making “a catalogue of broken promises”. Again and again, Hitler made promises, but never ever kept them. He signed many documents with other countries, but never lived up to them. They should have known by then that promises or more signed agreements would not keep Hitler under control. There was nothing that would stop Hitler from reaching his goals. The fact that Chamberlain totally misjudged Hitler and believed that he did not have any ulterior motive at Munich in 1938 was a reflection of his naivety. The appeasers were so busy giving opportunities to Hitler what he wanted and to keep peace that they missed several good opportunities to resist him. After the remilitarization of the Rhineland in 1936, Hitler admitted that any sign of military action by the French would have led him to withdraw his troops immediately. If France and Britain, under the authority of League of Nations have taken some action ahead of the event, the German army would have evacuated the Rhineland without shedding a drop of blood, and that might have led Hitler to think more carefully in proceeding further with his plans. If they had not let Hitler take Czechoslovakia, they could have had stronger resistance to German’s attack as Czechoslovakia was a well-armed country.
In conclusion, appeasement was justified to a certain extent given the military background, the lack of support from the population and allies and the economic circumstances that Britain was facing. However, appeasement was not largely justified because there were many opportunities to hinder Hitler’s plans, such as not allowing the remilitarization of the Rhineland which led up to Hitler’s increase of aggressiveness, more time for Germany to prepare for war, the betrayal of Czechoslovakia, losing the allies’ trust and exposing the naivety of Chamberlain.
CARTOON ANALYSIS
This is a British cartoon dated back to October 1938, by David Low. The cartoon shows Hitler taking on the role as Santa, holding onto a sack which says Deutschland Uber Allies, meaning “Germany Over all”. There is a bed to Hitler’s right, where babies are being popped into the sack one by one. On the headboard of the bed, it says “Ex French-British family”. Several countries’ names are also written on the headboard, such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia etc. It is evident that this cartoon is criticizing the Munich Agreement.
Hitler, being dressed as Santa, can be seen as an irony, because “Santa” is supposed to be a good character, delivering gifts to children of the world. Yet, we see a bad Santa, Hitler, claiming countries of Eastern Europe as his one by one, step by step. In the sack, we see Austria in the sack, while Czechoslovakia is being held on by Hitler, being placed into the sack. The rest of the babies representing the various countries in Europe are being lined up on the bed, depicted with worried faces. The fact that the babies are lined up on the line makes it seem as if they are powerless, as if they had no sort of authority over Hitler, pathetically waiting for their deathbeds- Hitler taking over the country. From this it is obvious that Low is trying to make a point- that Hitler is going to claim the rest of the countries in only a matter of time, and that some action should be taken.
The words on Hitler’s sack saying “Germany over all” further emphasizes the Low’s opinion of what Hitler’s plan in taking over all the countries. Hitler also has a smug on his face, showing his satisfaction with his accomplishments, and confidence of attaining his other goals. The words on the headboard of the bed “Ex French-British Family” suggests that cartoonist’s opinion that by abandoning Czechoslovakia, Britain and France had lost the trust of the countries of Eastern Europe. Thus, this cartoon is clearly an anti-Munich agreement or anti-appeasement cartoon.
The purpose of the cartoon is to let the audience know that all that has been accomplished is losing trusts of the countries of Eastern Europe, losing friends, and that Hitler will go on seizing other countries if no action is taken. Low is trying to convince the audience that some sort of action to prevent Hitler from his territorial ambitions is needed.
The inclusion of Hitler’s statement that “Europe can look forward to a Christmas of peace” is a sarcastic comment made by Low. In actual fact, what Low is trying to put across is that Europe can look forward to a disastrous time being overtaken by Hitler.
