Appeasement and the outbreak of WWII 1938–1939

By autumn 1938 Hitler had already torn up Versailles, rearmed, occupied the Rhineland and absorbed Austria. Britain and France had protested but never resisted. The remaining year — from the Sudetenland crisis in September 1938 to the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 — is the story of why appeasement finally collapsed and the Allies went to war. Examiners want you to weigh causes and consequences, and to evaluate Chamberlain's Munich agreement with hindsight and contemporary perspective.

What is appeasement?

Appeasement is the foreign-policy doctrine of giving in to a hostile state's demands in order to avoid war. In 1938 Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed Hitler had limited, rational aims — restoring lost German lands and protecting German speakers — that could be satisfied with concessions. Once satisfied, Hitler would (he hoped) become a peaceful European partner.

Arguments for appeasement at the time

• Fear of another war. WWI had killed 750,000 Britons; pacifism dominated public opinion.
• Belief Versailles had been too harsh — many in Britain felt Hitler had legitimate grievances.
• Imperial commitments. Britain's army was small and committed to defending the Empire.
• Need for time to rearm. RAF radar, Spitfires and Hurricanes weren't ready in 1938.
• Economic Depression — defence spending was unpopular.
• Fear of communism. A strong Germany could check the Soviet threat in eastern Europe.
• Dominions split. Australia, New Zealand and Canada signalled they would not fight in 1938.

Arguments against appeasement (Churchill and the critics)

• Hitler was breaking treaties without punishment — each success encouraged the next move.
• Czechoslovakia had a strong army and the Skoda arms works — losing it weakened the Allied position.
• Concession rewarded aggression and undermined the rule of international law.
• Stalin saw Britain abandoning eastern Europe, pushing him toward Hitler.
• Munich gave Hitler a year more than he otherwise had to rearm.

The Sudetenland crisis (Sept 1938)

• The Sudetenland was a region of Czechoslovakia containing 3 million ethnic Germans.
• Konrad Henlein, leader of the Sudeten Nazi Party, demanded autonomy then union with Germany — coordinated by Berlin.
• Hitler threatened war if the Sudetenland was not transferred to Germany.
• Czechoslovakia mobilised; France was treaty-bound to defend her; Britain feared a continental war.

The road to Munich (Sept 1938)

• 15 September — Chamberlain flew to Berchtesgaden; agreed in principle to transfer.
• 22 September — at Bad Godesberg Hitler raised demands: occupation by 1 October.
• 27 September — Britain mobilised the navy; gas masks were distributed in London.
• 29–30 September — Munich Conference. Britain, France, Germany, Italy met (no Czechs, no Soviets). Sudetenland transferred to Germany.
• 30 September — Chamberlain returned waving the Anglo-German declaration: "peace for our time".
• Czechoslovakia lost 3 million people, 70% of its iron and steel, the Skoda works, and its border defences.

Reactions to Munich

• British public — initially relieved; Chamberlain hailed as peacemaker.
• Czechs — felt betrayed; called it "the Munich betrayal".
• Churchill — "We have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat." (House of Commons, 5 Oct 1938.)
• Stalin — concluded the West would not check Hitler; began considering a German pact.
• Hitler — privately disappointed (he had wanted war). Famously remarked of Chamberlain: "He's such a nice old gentleman, I'll give him my autograph."

March 1939 — the end of appeasement

• 15 March 1939 — German troops occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia (Bohemia and Moravia became a Reich Protectorate; Slovakia a German puppet state).
• The Sudeten Germans excuse no longer applied — these were Czechs and Slovaks.
• Chamberlain finally accepted Hitler could not be trusted.
• 31 March 1939 — Britain and France guaranteed Poland's independence.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact (23 August 1939)

• Britain's failure at Munich convinced Stalin that the West would not stand firm.
• Negotiations between Britain/France and the USSR in summer 1939 dragged.
• Hitler offered Stalin the eastern half of Poland and the Baltic states — Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact signed 23 August.
• Public clauses: 10-year non-aggression.
• Secret protocol: divided Poland and the Baltic states between Germany and USSR.
• Result: Hitler could invade Poland without fear of a two-front war.

Invasion of Poland and outbreak of war

• 1 September 1939 — Germany invaded Poland (using SS-staged Gleiwitz incident as pretext).
• 3 September 1939 — Britain and France declared war.
• The USSR invaded eastern Poland on 17 September as agreed.

Why did appeasement fail?

• Hitler's aims were not limited; he wanted Lebensraum and ideological war.
• Each concession increased his strength and confidence.
• The credibility of British and French guarantees collapsed.
• Stalin's distrust of the West produced the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
• The Polish guarantee committed Britain to a war for which she had been unprepared.

Examiner advice

Strong answers weigh appeasement as rational at the time but catastrophic in hindsight, and connect Munich to the Nazi-Soviet Pact and Polish invasion as a single chain of consequences.