Was the Policy of Appeasement Justified? (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
How did appeasement cause the Second World War? - Summary
The policy of appeasement played a significant role in causing the Second World War because it encouraged Adolf Hitler to become more aggressive. When Hitler saw that Britain and France were unwilling to stop him, he felt confident to continue his expansion plans. Hitler knew that he could act without immediate consequences.
By the time Britain and France realised that Hitler could not be appeased and decided to take a stand, it was too late. Germany had already grown too strong. The invasion of Poland in 1939 finally forced Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of the Second World War. As a result, appeasement contributed to the war by allowing Germany to become too powerful.
What was appeasement?
Appeasement was the policy of giving in to demands to avoid war
Followers of appeasement use diplomacy and treaties to make allowance for aggressive nations
Britain and France followed the policy of appeasement in the 1930s
Many historians associate appeasement with Neville Chamberlain
Like many other politicians, Chamberlain had lost family members in the First World War
His brother was killed in action in 1915
The First World War had horrified Chamberlain and the British public
He would do anything to avoid another world war
In 1937, Chamberlain became the British Prime Minister
During this time, he attempted to appease Hitler’s foreign policy aims
Not all British politicians agreed with appeasement
Winston Churchill was a strong opponent of appeasement
He stated that:
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last”
Motivations for appeasement
Exam Tip
A 16-mark exam question in AQA Conflict & Tension: The Inter-War Years, 1918–1939 could ask you how far you agree that Chamberlain was right to follow the policy of appeasement. Use these arguments for appeasement. Discuss in your answer if Britain could stand up to Hitler. Consider the motivations for Chamberlain to follow appeasement. Explain if these reasons were bigger than Hitler's threat to world peace.
Worked Example
Write an account of how the policy of appeasement caused problems for peace in Europe
[8 marks]
Partial answer:
Appeasement caused problems for peace in Europe because it empowered Hitler. Neville Chamberlain became the British Prime Minister in 1937. During this time, he attempted to appease Hitler’s foreign policy aims by allowing Hitler to reverse the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler took actions such as Anschluss and remilitarising the Rhineland. This caused problems for peace in Europe because the more that Britain and France did not stand up to Hitler, the more risks that Hitler took. Whilst Chamberlain was convinced that Hitler would eventually stop his demands, critics of appeasement like, Winston Churchill, noted how Hitler kept breaking promises and demanding more and more land. Therefore, the policy of appeasement could never work with a leader like Hitler. Appeasement allowed Hitler to make more demands, gain more power and threaten world peace.
Exam Tip
Students often try to write a story when answering a ‘Write an account’ question. Instead, you need to focus on explaining the causes or consequences of the event highlighted in the question.
You should aim to have 2 paragraphs for this answer. You could write these in a PEEL format:
P - Make a point about the question
E - Use evidence that supports the point that you have made
E - Explain why this evidence shows a problem with appeasement. Avoid repeating the point. Explain how this factor showed that following the policy of appeasement meant that there could not be peace in Europe
L - Link your explanation back to the question by stating how significant this disagreement was to the failure of appeasement
For further guidance on this question, you can read this revision note on how to answer the 8-mark “Write an account” question.
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