Appeasement Policy and the Munich Agreement Essay

In 1939 the world was plunged into World War II because of the Munich Agreement. The Munich Agreement was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland Crisis between the major powers of Europe after a conference held in Munich in Germany in 1938. The Sudetenland was an important region of Czechoslovakia. The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty created as a result of six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, which put an official end to World War I between the Allies and Central Powers. The Munich Agreement caused many disagreements between European countries. Collective security was a more effective response to aggression than appeasement because more European countries disagreed than agreed

The Non-Aggression Pact was spurred by Hitler's desire to conquer more land for Germany, which was a direct result of the reparations. The loss of German land to the Polish Corridor was a major part of the decision to invade Poland and other neighboring countries.

The appeasement policy was not ideal for Europe. It proved to allow Hitler opportunities to gain control over most of Europe. Winston Churchill, a politician and army leader, stated that, “I have always held the view that the maintenance of peace depends upon the accumulation of deterrents against the aggressor, coupled with a sincere effort to redress grievances.”(Document B). Churchill believed that if France or Britain put in an effort to strategize and stop Germany, they would have prevented Germany from invading Czechoslovakia. Churchill also further states that, “... I ventured to … pledge that in conjunction with France and other powers they would guarantee the security of Czechoslovakia … and I still believe that if that course had been followed events would not have fallen to this disastrous state…”(Document B). This shows how Europe had many chance to stop Hitler by working together.

One of the most controversial documents of World War 2 was the appeasement signed on September 30, 1938 in Munich, Germany. The document known as the Munich Pact gave Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Adolf Hitler in hopes he would not seek additional territory. Before the appeasement was signed, Nazi Germany had previously taken multiple aggressive actions. In 1937, it had attacked a small city in Spain and in 1938 (before the appeasement was signed) it had invaded Austria. The Prime Minister of Britain began negotiations with Hitler in pursuit of achieving another war, which resulted in appeasement. This appeasement encouraged Hitler’s aggression as he gained confidence to attack and attempt to gain more territory. Ultimately, this was the wrong policy for England to pursue in 1938. The Munich Pact, as it was known, was unnecessary, gave Germany time to rearm, and 7f.

Hitler, A Tyrannical dictator, A murderer, But also an outlandish Military Leader. An Austrian Man who ruled the Weimar Republic from 1933 to 1945. But to wonder, How well did Adolf Hitler dictate The Weimar Republic to the extent where the German people supported his motives and Ideas. Though he was convincing he was a brutal man when it came to threatening other Nations, And that’s how Adolf Hitler used Appeasement to his advantage. But yet, Adolf Hitler was a well spoken man, He himself was able to convince multiple Germans In ether beer halls to Entire crowds of people watching and being converted to Hitler’s Vocabulary of Loathlyness.

This was millions of dollars that Germany had to pay. Second, Germany had to reduce the size of their army. Third, Germany’s colonies were to be divided among the Allies. The treaty had many mistakes. The main mistake was it restricted Germany so much. It made Germany mad and they didn’t like the treaty one bit.

The Terms of the treaty were far too controversial and harsh upon the German people. There was widespread international opposition to the treaty, as it was not received with admiration and was seen as a victor’s retaliation. Russia, who had supported the allies during the First World War and was a victim of the war, was not included in the committee that conceived the Treaty of Versailles, which led to Russian displeasure. The treaty created nine new countries and led to redistribution of land of countries (Gurian 1943). These land changes contributed to conflicts and was a controversial term of the treaty. And therefore the Treaty of Versailles did not win major support of Nations, which furthermore led to its failure and its aim for

that Hitler was a “sincere man who had no intention to provoke a war.” He too,

The Versailles treaty was the peace settlement between Germany and the Allied powers that eventually ended world war one. Even Though it ended this war the treaty of Versailles was hated by many American and Germany. Germany made many threats to the Allied powers. The passing of the Treaty of Versailles resulted in unpopular backlash from both Germany and America.

It seems that there were different motives for both the Soviets and the Germans when it came to the agreement of the Molotov-Ribbtrop Pact. Germany would need to form strong alliances in order to restore and maintain power. The Treaty of Versailles would leave Germany in a vulnerable position, particularly in regards to their economic conditions. Upon entering an economic depression, the German people began to feel desperate, allowing for Hitler to develop a rise in power, with rhetoric that promised more security and a greater Germany. It would be in later 1935 where Hitler would believe that he would be able to break some of the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

Two days after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany, on the 3rd of September 1939, President Roosevelt issued a proclamation of neutrality and ordered the suspension of munitions sales to all “belligerents” (nations involved in war.) This included its “allies” the British and the French, as they were counted as “belligerent” nations.

In my essay, I am going to talk/discuss if appeasement was the right policy and weather it should have been used with Hitler. Appeasement was a policy that was used by Britain and France in which they hoped that if they compromised and showed understanding towards Hitler there would have been no reason for war to breakdown again. It was used by Britain in which they let Hitler break rules of the treaty and gave him the things he demanded for – army and the land that was taken and given to the leading nations in the First World War. Hitler never thought the same as Chamberlain; he had an entirely different view towards appeasement and thought it was a sign of cowardliness. Hitler

For some European powers at the time, The Munich Agreement and the Anglo-German Declaration was considered to have achieved a peace that was thought to be unconceivable. Unfortunately, the great claims of Neville Chamberlain did not come true. These agreements only delayed the inevitable between the great European powers and allowed Hitler to gather more territory with relative ease. This document between the powers of Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom outlined the terms and conditions under which Germany would annex a large portion of Czechoslovakia. Throughout this text, the historical context and significance of the Munich Agreement will be analyzed.

Chamberlain's Policy Toward Germany Appeasement is the term used to describe the foreign policies of the British Conservative governments of Baldwin (1935-37) and Chamberlain (1937-40) and also those of France and America to a lesser extent. Appeasement involved making concessions to the two main dictators of Europe; Hitler and Mussolini. Hitler broke many of the stipulations of the Treaty of Versailles, yet nothing active was done, there was only spoken denunciation of his actions. Hitler stopped paying reparations in 1933.

Chamberlain was for appeasement at any cost. Avoiding war was most important to him. He wanted to make Germany happy and avoid war; unfortunately, he misjudged Hitler. He believed that Hitler only wanted to rebuild Germany and so because of his previous mentioned sympathies he believed he was working with Hitler to reconnect Germany. But instead he was working to create more tensions and anger through out Britain and Europe as is shown in the next paragraph.