What Are The Causes Of Appeasement

The Holocaust was one of the twentieth century's greatest tragedies that were made possible by anti-Semitism, the indifference of other nations, isolationism politics, and outright fear.

     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 stock market crash of 1929 sent the nation spiraling into a state of economic paralysis that became known as the Great Depression. As industries shrank and businesses collapsed or cut back, up to 25% of Americans were left unemployed. At the same time, the financial crisis destroyed the life savings of countless Americans (Modern American Poetry). Food, housing and other consumable goods were in short supply for most people (Zinn 282). This widespread state of poverty had serious social repercussions for the country.

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 Despite large extent the policy of appeasement in the outbreak of war it is superseded by other factors such as the Treaty of Versailles.

The Holocaust is directly linked to World War 2. Once Hitler gained control of large portions of Europe and began his process of Genocide on Jews and other undesirables, Russia panicked and scrambled to keep hold of its vital ports along the Saltic Sea. In the June of 1940, Italy, who was allied with Germany and Japan, declared war on Britain and France, begining World War 2. Russia, already facing German invasions, quickly sided with France and Britain, forming the Allied powers. But by then Germany, Italy, and Japan, also known as the Axis powers, had already taken most of Europe. Specifically the countries Austria, Chechoslovakia, Albania, Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands. The fighting had just started, but the roots of German troops had already been webbed deep into the European soil. The Allies would need a miracle to gain a foot hold. They would need the United States of America.

In the year 1929, after a century of Americans being filled with a great sense of being alive and chasing after the American dream with new opportunities in front of them, everything Americans had worked so hard to establish came crashing down. On one fateful day the stock market crashed, leaving Americans all over the nation scared, penny less, and uncertain feelings about what the future would hold for them. The days leading up to years following this crash became known as the Great Depression a time where Americans struggled to get by or even had to leave the only home they’ve ever had when it comes to the dust bowl. The Great Depression posed a great hold on American economy leaving people unemployed and immigrants

The extermination of Jewish people during World War II was a horrific and merciless event that was effectively stopped by the Allies. Once the Allies became aware of the Holocaust, they immediately took action to end it. There have been countless suggestions of what the Allies could have done to prevent the Holocaust, however those would not have been as effective as the solution the Allies had put in place. Despite arguments that the Allies did not make a strong attempt to saving the Jews, by putting all their resources into the complete defeat of Nazi Germany, they were essentially doing all they could.

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.

When the citizens had bought all that they could buy, there was a decrease in demand. Suddenly, the industries had an excess of goods and no one to sell it to. At this point, the Fordney-McCumber Act began to cripple the economy of America. Other nations introduced high tariffs to boost their revenue and to spite the United States. Sadly for the United States, these high tariffs and low demand were instrumental in the depression that America experienced. When the stock market crashed on October 29th, 1929 or “Black Tuesday”, the united states, along with other nations were in economic turmoil and the widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly. The depression threatened people's jobs, savings, and even their homes and farms. During the heart of the depression, over one-quarter of the American population was out of work. For many Americans, these were extremely hard times. When Roosevelt was voted into office, he introduced the New Deal. While this plan tried to help the united states out of it’s isolationist rut, the second world war was the final solution. Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defence jobs.

The Holocaust of 1933-1945, was the systematic killing of millions of European Jews by the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazis) (Webster, 430). This project showed the treacherous treatment towards all Jews of that era. Though many fought against this horrific genocide, the officials had already determined in their minds to exterminate the Jews. Thus, the Holocaust was a malicious movement that broke up many homes, brought immense despair, and congregated great discrimination. The Holocaust was an act of Hell on earth.

Hitler and the Nazis implemented the “Final Solution” starting in 1940 and went all the way through to the end of the war in 1945 (“The Holocaust”). Millions of people’s lives were lost in the one year that the “Final Solution” commenced. Furthermore, the camps were not liberated until Soviet troops marched through German occupied Poland; giving the Nazis time to evacuate the camps (“Auschwitz). France and Britain have been allies with the United States since World War I; both countries declared war before the “Final Solution” was undergoing its terrible impact on the world. The United States could have saved millions of lives by joining in with our allies and could have possibly reduced the number of people murdered by the “Final Solution” and Hitler's desire for purity. Second, back in the United States, word has gotten around about the Holocaust, and the millions of people who were dying under Nazi influence. During the war, the United States were not focused on saving the people, but on winning the war. During very late 1941-1945 the United States should have shifted half of their focus from winning the war to helping the people in the camps (“The Holocaust”).

The 1920s seemed to promise a future of a new and wonderful way of life for America and its citizens . Modern science, evolving cultural norms, industrialization, and even jazz music heralded exciting opportunities and a future that only pointed up toward a better life. However, cracks in the facade started to show, and beginning with the stock market crash of 1929 the wealth of the country, and with it the hopes and expectations of its people, began to slip away. The Great Depression left a quarter of the population unemployed and much of the rest destitute and uncertain of what the future held. Wealth vanished, people took their money out of banks, and plans were put on hold. The most significant way in which the Great Depression affected Americans’ everyday lives was through poverty because it tore relationships apart and damaged the spirit of society while unexpectedly bringing families together in unity.

Churchill’s opinion on the appeasement and Munich were that they were a “disaster of the first magnitude.” He believed that the appeasement was another sign of weakness by Great Britain, and further emphasized that Great Britain wouldn’t take action against Germany’s behavior. Churchill also disliked that the Czechs weren’t invited to Munich, seeing that the Munich Conference dealt with the territory of Czechoslovakia. Churchill stated, “And I will say this, that I believe the Czechs, left to themselves and told they were going to get no help from the Western Powers…” Chamberlain had a more positive view of the appeasement policy and of the Munich Conference. Chamberlain believed that Germany’s control over Czechoslovakia was inevitable, and appeasement was the only way to prevent Czechoslovakia from getting obliterated by the Germans. German hostility against Czechoslovakia had already been displayed by Hitler in May as he said to his generals that he intended “to smash Czechoslovakia by military action in the near

Neville Chamberlain was a realist, he had inherited a policy of appeasement Lord Halifax memoir) from his predecessor Baldwin. His prime motive during his diplomatic meetings with Adolf Hitler was to prevent Britain becoming entangled in a war that she was ill equipped to wage. This he successfully achieved and by defusing a situation through statesmanship he bought valuable time to allow the British forces to re-arm.

Britain had to appease 2 of their 3 rivals (Germany, Italy, and Japan), because they could not afford to hold a war with 2 of them. So in an effort to keep Mussolini 'on-side' over Abyssinia, Chamberlain gave into him and let him have it. After the Munich Conference, When Chamberlain went to the Munich Conference in September 1938; he knew that the Royal Air Force needed another year to finish producing the new air defences, and the squadrons of Hurricanes. During the 1930's Britain was mainly concerned with recovering from the Great Depression so rearmament and war was not a priority. Chamberlain was not in a position to oppose the Germans or to start another war.