When attempting to understand why appeasement was used as a measure to stop war, considering the the ideology of Chamberlain is crucial in terms of understanding the perspective in which he viewed war. Throughout the 1930’s, pacifism had flourished in Britain as almost two and a half million British soldiers had been killed or wounded in the first world war. This act of war, although it happened some 20 years prior, had still been fresh in the minds of the British people. Neville Chamberlain would carry the torch of pacifism ever since he was elected Prime Minister of Britain in 1937. Chamberlain’s pacifist attitude towards war in general was a culmination of living through the war himself and of having a cousin, whom Chamberlain cared for
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This all ended when Hitler felt that it was safe to withdraw from all agreements with the allied powers and to exercise very calculated acts of war. Hitler made this decision on a very thought out principle, that the other European nations would become angry, but wouldn 't go to war in order to preserve the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. He was right, in a major act of appeasement Britain, France, Italy, and the League of Nations condemned Germany 's rearmament, but did nothing in terms of addressing the issue. This tepid reaction only emboldened Hitler as he believed that he could continue to test the waters. A year later, he violated another provision of the Treaty of Versailles and remilitarized the Rhineland. This ultimately lead to the invasion of Poland and the failures of appeasement when dealing with Hitler became more evident than ever before. Aggressive, expansionist states are most easily stopped early on when they are weak and vulnerable. But precisely because their capabilities are limited at that point—and their intentions can only be guessed at, it is often hard to persuade other countries to act. The governments at this time believed that it would be more intelligent to accommodate rather than confront the actions of Hitler. This idea of accommodation did not sit well with one individual in particular, Winston Churchill. Churchill was an elected Tory with more than 20 years of cabinet experience in the British House of Commons. Due to his beliefs, Churchill is put aside by his peers as his ideals are seen as outdated. When churchill speaks out about defending Britain against the rising Nazi power, few would listen as he was viewed as a warmonger. For Winston Churchill, Hitler was a tyrant who was not to be
This all ended when Hitler felt that it was safe to withdraw from all agreements with the allied powers and to exercise very calculated acts of war. Hitler made this decision on a very thought out principle, that the other European nations would become angry, but wouldn 't go to war in order to preserve the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. He was right, in a major act of appeasement Britain, France, Italy, and the League of Nations condemned Germany 's rearmament, but did nothing in terms of addressing the issue. This tepid reaction only emboldened Hitler as he believed that he could continue to test the waters. A year later, he violated another provision of the Treaty of Versailles and remilitarized the Rhineland. This ultimately lead to the invasion of Poland and the failures of appeasement when dealing with Hitler became more evident than ever before. Aggressive, expansionist states are most easily stopped early on when they are weak and vulnerable. But precisely because their capabilities are limited at that point—and their intentions can only be guessed at, it is often hard to persuade other countries to act. The governments at this time believed that it would be more intelligent to accommodate rather than confront the actions of Hitler. This idea of accommodation did not sit well with one individual in particular, Winston Churchill. Churchill was an elected Tory with more than 20 years of cabinet experience in the British House of Commons. Due to his beliefs, Churchill is put aside by his peers as his ideals are seen as outdated. When churchill speaks out about defending Britain against the rising Nazi power, few would listen as he was viewed as a warmonger. For Winston Churchill, Hitler was a tyrant who was not to be