Furthermore, it can be argued that it was appeasement that allowed Germany to grow too strong. The Treaty of Versailles limited Germany’s army to 100,000 men, which Hitler saw as unfair and unreasonable. In 1935, Hitler made the decision to once again build up Germany’s army, and by 1939, Germany’s army had almost ten times the amount of soldiers it originally had in 1932, with a massive number of 950,000 men. It was not only troops that appeasement allowed Germany to expand on, but also land. Hitler felt it was right to take back what, he believed, was rightfully and originally Germany’s. Germany’s swift expansion of land echoed the beginnings of World War I, when the Triple Alliance was expanding and gaining power, economy and intimidation. An example of Germany’s expansion in the 1930s was the Anschluss with Austria in March 1938. Although the Treaty of Versailles had expressly forbidden the reunion of Austria with Germany, Hitler was appeased when Germany, once again, allied with Austria. This suggests that Germany was yet again becoming more powerful than both Britain and France.
Moreover, the policy of appeasement put too much trust in Hitler’s promises. An example of this is the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia that contained over 3.5 million Germans. Hitler believed Germany therefore had a right over this particular area of Czechoslovakia and set his sights on it in 1938. However, Britain, France and the USSR had promised to help Czechoslovakia if it was threatened. This placed Czechoslovakia’s allies in a difficult position: keep its promises or face Hitler’s wrath. Britain and France eventually took, in hindsight, what is believed to be the easy way out and appeased Hitler with his decision after signing the Munich Agreement in September 1938. This stated that Hitler was only taking the Sudetenland and would not conquer the rest of Czechoslovakia. This was welcomed by the British public as “peace in our time”, but only 4 days later, Hitler said that he “regretted” that the previous arrangements were not good enough. This shows the fact that Germany’s needs would never be fulfilled, that Hitler was not to be trusted and that appeasement was based on the huge mistake that Hitler was actually trustworthy.
Appeasing Hitler also scared the USSR, who was a big defender of communism in the 1930s. Hitler made no secret of wanting to expand eastwards. The policy of appeasement showed the USSR that Britain and France would not help them if help was needed, and this scared the Soviet Union greatly. This led to anxiety in the USSR government and it also led to the loss of trust for Britain and France, because it was clear to the Soviet Union that they would not stand in Hitler’s way.
On the other hand, those who believe appeasement helped can argue that Hitler was right, and the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany, restricting it too much and having too many harsh clauses. For example, Germany had to limit its army to 100,000 men, making it vulnerable and leaving Germany defenceless. It also forbade any alliances between Austria and Germany, but many Austrians were German-speaking, so felt they had a right to ally with Germany. This is why Hitler was allowed to make an Anschluss with Austria, and after taking a plebiscite where 99.75% of Austrians wanted to ally with Germany, the British and French government felt no need to prevent Germany from its plans of peace. This led to the belief that once the wrongs by Germany were put right, it would become a peaceful nation once again.
Britain also felt that it had other problems to worry about, rather than focusing solely on Hitler and his actions. For example, Britain and France were still suffering from the economic effects of the Wall Street Crash in 1939. Britain and France did not have enough money for the reparations of another war, so they felt that the policy of appeasement would prolong peace until their economies were able to cope. Britain and France also saw Hitler as a buffer to communism, as his plans for communists were made clear in November 1936 and 1937, when Hitler signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan and Italy. Britain and France were afraid that communism would spread westwards and were also concerned about the potential threat Stalin, the leader of the USSR at the time, posed towards world peace. This meant that although Hitler was being appeased frequently and often unfairly, Britain and France were able to avoid another conflict and focus on greater matters.
Moreover, Britain did not feel as if it would be supported if it decided to go into another war. After losing almost 130,000 soldiers in the First World War, American leaders were determined not to join another war concerning Europe. However, America was believed to be one of the greatest powers at the time, and Britain was unsure if it would be able to go to war without having the support and help from America. Britain also did not know if the British Empire and Commonwealth states would support another war against Germany either. This left Britain virtually defenceless and without any allies. This led to the decision by the British government to avoid war under any circumstances, and also led to the belief that appeasement would be the only policy that would allow that to happen.
Both British and French leaders in the 1930s remembered vividly the horrors of the First World War, with Chamberlain stating that “in war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers.” This is emphasised by the statistics of World War I, as Britain lost almost one million men and France lost 1.3 million. Also, as so many men were lost and so much money was paid for the reparations, Britain did not feel physically and mentally ready for yet another crisis, and the policy of appeasement would give Britain enough time to re-arm and build back up its economy and morale. Although the “Great War” was won by the allies, the horrific experiences Britain and France had to go through led to the leaders wishing to avoid war at any costs, either until they were strong enough to fight or until Hitler’s needs were fulfilled.
It can be argued that appeasement was a failure in the long term, as ultimately it did not avoid another war. Historians may argue that appeasement bought time between the First and Second World Wars. This led to Britain and France having more time to re-arm, re-boost public morale and increase their economy. Many see appeasement as cowardice, and a way to let bullies succeed, but at the time appeasement was seen as the only reason another war hadn’t already started.