Britain was economically damaged and knew that war was impossible to avoid, so they tried to buy time. The production of arms was stepped up. What Chamberlain brought back from his talks was time and it proved the balance between winning an unprovoked war.
Britain had not the economy or manpower to risk and survive a full-scale war with any country. I think Chamberlain made a wise decision to appease Germany, who was in great debt after signing the Treaty of Versailles. Chamberlain also believed that peace and diplomacy was the answer in dealing with a leader such as Hitler.
British politicians and leaders feared communism and saw Germany in central Europe as a barrier to the spread of this ideology from Russia. Chamberlain and Winston Churchill were united in the view that "Hitlerism was preferable to Bolshevism". Appeasement was a suitable option during the Rhineland as it essentially kept Germany in between Britain and Russia.
The policy of appeasement used by Chamberlain, while intended to preserve the peace, hindered the Allies and help Germany when ww2 broke out. Letting Germany increase its navy, army, and air force, reoccupy the Rhineland, and give it the Czech Sudetenland all helped to strengthen the German position in Europe. It would lead to Germany taking over most of Europe with relative ease in a matter of months.
Appeasement refers to the foreign policy of England and France toward Germany in the years prior to ww2. They let Hitler rebuild the German army and navy, occupy the Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia. If they had put up a fight at the beginning, perhaps Hitler would not have kept pushing until the situation turned into a World War.
Appeasement was a popular concept among British policy. There were several reasons as to why Chamberlain favoured this policy. People in Britain during the early 1930's had voted against war; this could also be down to the economic problems after the Great Depression such as high unemployment. Due to the economic problems, this led to military weakness as the country virtually had no air force and the navy was insufficient as was the army. In light of all these problems, Chamberlain had seen the effects of Hitler and the Nazis however he had believed that by getting Hitler to sign the appeasement that this would successfully bind Hitler into keeping his promises.
However, appeasement also had many risks associated. Some were stated at the time and others become obvious with hindsight. First and most importantly, it allowed Germany to grow too strong. Germany was not only recovering lost ground but it was also becoming much more powerful than Britain and France. Appeasement also scared the USSR. Hitler didn’t make his plans of eastward expansion in secrecy. Appeasement gave the Russians the idea that Britain and France would not stand in the way of Germany. It also put a lot of trust into Hitler’s promises. It was based on the idea that Hitler was trustworthy. Finally, it encouraged Hitler to be aggressive. Hitler gained confidence as he won gamble after gamble. This encouraged him to take a bigger risk.
In conclusion, a lot of people think Chamberlain appeased Hitler in order to avoid war; however others say that he was propelling Europe into war by allowing Hitler to do as he pleased. I think appeasement was a factor, which caused ww2. However, there were other factors, as appeasement on it’s own would never cause a war. I think the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles was probably the most important cause of ww2 as many Germans were full of resentment and wanted revenge. Had Britain and France resisted German aggression earlier, ww2 might not have broken out.
