To What Extent Was the Policy of Appeasement Responsible for the Outbreak of War in Europe in 1939?

England and France, fearing another war established a policy of appeasement to by time and rearm its forces. The European countries believed that Hitler would only retake the Sudetenland; this land was historically Germany's homeland(6). This was another mistake by France and England because with the Sudetenland he gained the famous Skoda armament factories and was ultimately a more dangerous military opponent(6). Until the remainder of Czechoslovakia was swallowed in 1939 all Hitler had done seemed reasonable(6). Until then he had only tried to obtain lands where ethnic Germans lived(6). The disregard of the Treaty of Versailles would be the main factor that allowed Germany to regain their power and ultimately bring the world into another war.

The second World War can be considered “Hitler`s war” due to Adolf Hitlers responsibility and actions that caused the war. He had an enormous impact and role on many events such as secretly increasing the size fo the army,which made World War 2 possible. On the other hand, the failure of the League of Nations and defects in the Treaty of Versailles also triggered the outbreak of the war. It gave Hitler many oppurtunities to support his ambitions and policies. Hitlers Plan that could only be followed through with the help of mistakes such as the appeasement. It can also be argued that it was rather Germany than Hitler`s war as their reaction to World War 1.Many factors affected the outbreak

     Britain’s policy of Appeasement (May/June 1937 – March 1939) was also a cause of World War Two. Neville Chamberlain became the British Prime Minister on May 28, 1937, and followed the policy of appeasing Germany, believing that all Hitler wanted to do was unite German-speaking people. In doing so, Hitler would break the Treaty of Versailles but Chamberlain did not believe Hitler would cause war. Churchill disagreed, citing Mein Kampf (1924) where Hitler has written that Germany must regain lands ‘in the East… by the power of the sword.’ Little did Chamberlain know that he had misinterpreted Hitler’s aims.

The league of nations was created by the winners of WWI and was intended to prevent future world wars. The idea was created by the US president Woodrow Wilson. The League of Nations was supposed to be a council that included all the world nations to discuss topics and keep peace. This organization failed in stopping WWII. The League had multiple opportunities to stop the second world war, but failed miserably. The League of Nations had very limited authority on countries such as Japan, Italy, Germany and the USSR. “The main weapon of the League was to ask member countries to stop trading with aggressive countries”(Wheeler). The League of Nations was treated as a joke and could not enforce any of the rules that they set. The League had no authority because they had no army to threaten the aggressive countries. Additionally, countries such as Italy and Germany were not part of the League and therefore had no obligation to listen to them or make peace talks. If the League was set up in a better format and way to work it would not have failed and they could have been able to stop the second world

From the Treaty of Versailles, to the rise of Hitler, and the failure of the League of Nations, there were many causes that lead up to World War II. World War I left Germany with many shortfalls, thus leaving them in the hands of the Treaty of Versailles. Rather unfair of a Treaty, this left Germany once again looking for another way out. A country resented by many had no other choice but to feel optimistic toward Adolph Hitlers empty promises… making it substantially simple for him to gain power so quick. Throw in the Great Depression, and you have a vastly unstable world, which the Germans believed Hitler would lead them out of.

The policy of appeasement was widely pursued by Britain and France in the 1930s, when it referred to attempting to satisfy Germany's demands by negotiation and compromise, which would avoid war. However due to its failure the policy of appeasement, to a large extent was responsible for the outbreak of war in 1939. It is clear that if the Western Powers had retaliated against Hitler, war could have been avoided, it encouraged Hitler, Hitler could never be appeased, and that it prompted the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Despite large extent the policy of appeasement in the outbreak of war it is superseded by other factors such as the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1939 the world plunged into a state of depression and war, each country turning on one another. Diplomatic factors, Hitler's thirst for power, and the political and financial stand point are arrows that point directly to a future of destruction and war, all with the failure of appeasement. Collective security worked as a buffer between conflicts, and was the best response toward aggression. The weakening League of Nations failed to keep collective security intact from any wars. Hitler's leadership threatened the peace in Europe which caused Germany to stir up war around the world. The economic and political stand points were in danger and on the verge of collapsing.

In the 1930s, European governments found it necessary to appease Hitler and Mussolini. Appeasement is the word that clearly sums up the policies and actions that were taken by the European governments. There were a few reasons that these concessions were offered by European countries: none of the countries wanted another World War, the devastating effects

Appeasement was a less effective response to aggression because fewer countries agreed with the Munich Agreement. Some of Adolf Hitler’s ideas were stated in Document 1 such as needing colonies in order to enter colonial politics and that oppressed territories were not demoted to nothing by protests but by countries with stronger military forces. Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, asked the League of Nations fro help in stopping the invasion after Italy attacked Ethiopia. When the League of Nations’ response was ineffective, Selassie stated “God and history will remember your judgment. It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.” (Doc.2). This statement is like karma; because the League of Nations didn’t help Ethiopia, it would be attacked and get no help. This statement is in the point of view of Ethiopian people, but also for other European countries because when countries are without help, the country it asks will later be without help also. They will be in the same situation as the country asking for its help; “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.” Document 5 is in the point of view of the British. Document 5

During World War 2, the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to the axis powers. Inflation and war debt just made things worse. The German population wanted a leader who could save them from this misery, so they chose Hitler and that’s how Germany became powerful after its fall, and how Hitler began his control over Europe. Appeasement is to make someone less angry by agreeing to their demands. Collective security is the cooperation of several countries in an alliance to strengthen the security of each. The war was brought and the best response to aggression was collective security.

After the First World War, many countries saw political, social and economic changes. The world was plunged into World War 2 because of the Munich Agreement, an agreement regarding Nazi Germany's annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's borders. This agreement caused many issues between European countries. Many people of the “Big Four” had different views on dealing with aggression. Collective Security was a more effect response to aggression than appeasement.

However, British and French military intervention in the Rhineland incident, 1936 could have been an alternative to appeasement. Their reluctance to take action permitted Germany to increase her power (within 18 months Germany’s rate of rearmament surpassed that of Britain and France), whilst also contributing to the burgeoning belief that the League of Nations was ineffective. Hitler himself stated that "If France had then marched into the Rhineland; we would have had to withdraw with our tails between our legs." Indeed, many historians concur as invading the

As it was built on the unrealistic premise that nations would overlook their own interests in order to look after other members, the League of Nations and Collective Security was destined to fail. Nations were required to turn over their right to make decisions and foreign policies over to an international body so as to establish ‘internationalism.’ The requirements of the league are described by historian E.H Carr as being, overly optimistic, ‘hollow and without substance.’ The invasion of Abyssinia by Mussolini was the embodiment of the failure of Collective Security. Upon hearing of Mussolini’s intent to invade the smaller country, Britain and France decided to refrain from intervening as they hoped to make an ally of Italy and did not want Mussolini to break the Stresa Front and side with Hitler. Of course Italy did side with Hitler and through their idleness, set a precedent of inaction that encouraged Hitler and the axis powers to act. Similar examples of the failure of the League can also be seen in its response to Italy and Germany’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War and Japan’s invasion of Manchuria.

The League failed when attempting at worldwide disarmament. This barely even got started as the ‘Big 4’ only reduced their armed forces by a miniscule amount before worrying about self-defence. Britain’s excuse was it had to ‘protect’ other weaker nations. Only the Germans ended up disarming. This did not go down well, as these few selfish nations had put their own interests ahead of world peace, which was supposed to be their mission and purpose. The League lost respect for this, but this is their only large failure in the department of agreements and treaties.

Rearmament was a popular move in Germany. It boosted Nazi support. Hitler also knew that Britain had some sympathy for Germany on this issue, as Britain believed that the limits put on Germany’s armed forces by the Treaty of Versailles were too strict. It was clear that the permitted forces were not enough to defend Germany from attack. Also, Britain thought that Germany would be a good buffer against Communism.