Was Appeasement a Good Policy to Follow?

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Was Appeasement a Good Policy to Follow?

        Before the start of World War Two Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister decided to follow a policy of appeasement regarding Hitler’s demands in Europe. Appeasement means giving in to keep the peace, which is exactly what Britain and France did.

        There were many reasons for the appeasement of Hitler; Chamberlain felt that it was best to let Germany have the Sudetenland than to face another major war; He had the support of the British people who believed Hitler had a right to protect the German people who lived there; Chamberlain believed that Hitler was a reasonable man and because his demands were reasonable, if he gave into them, Hitler would be satisfied; Britain was more concerned about communism in the USSR than it was about Nazi Germany; Many people still thought that the Treaty of Versailles was unreasonably harsh, and had sympathized with Germany; there was also the concern that the British and French armies could not have withstood the German army in 1938 because of an agreement to disarm in the League of Nations some years earlier, at which point Germany pulled out and continued to re-arm.

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        In 1935 Germany started to re-arm, something that was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. The Anglo-German Naval Agreement was formed. This stated that Germany could build up her navy to 35% (45% for submarines) in tonnage of what the British navy was in 1935. This was the first step Hitler took in overturning the Treaty of Versailles.

        Hitler was all too aware of Chamberlains policy of appeasement and was prepared to use it to his advantage. According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to march her troops into the Rhineland, however in 1936, that’s exactly what Hitler ...

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