The Policy Of Appeasement During The Interwar Appeasement

The devastation in Europe caused by World War I led many countries to be left with little options, and British leaders came to the conclusion that the policy of appeasement would be the best for the country in order to avoid another war. According to Overy, the policy of appeasement was British and French attempts to satisfy the demands of the aggressive nations during the 1930’s, specifically Germany, Japan, and Italy. The interwar years is the time period between each world war, from 1919 to 1939. Appeasement was based on the idea that, eventually, Hitler would become satisfied with his demands; however, this did not happen because Hitler constantly wanted more. The policy of appeasement can be determined as ineffective during the interwar …show more content…
The Munich Agreement was derived from a conference that occurred in Munich, Germany and signed on September 30, 1938 by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Édouard Daladier, and Neville Chamberlain. This agreement ensured that Hitler would be able to collect the Sudetenland he believed belonged to Germany without the use of violence. The Munich Agreement is an example of British and French attempts at appeasement because according to Overy’s definition of appeasement, this agreement gave Germany (the aggressive nation) its demands without the use of violence. Hitler making this agreement with Chamberlain and other political leaders is an example of his public promotion of peace because this agreement gave Hitler what he wanted and avoided war for the time being without the use of violence. While this agreement did appease Hitler for the time being, it did not adequately fulfilled the policy of appeasement in the end. After the Munich Conference, Hitler felt cheated out of war because the agreement ensured peace and did not give him the war Hitler wanted. To ensure war would occur, Hitler secretly installed military official Konrad Henlein as a leader in obtaining Sudetenland and all of Czechoslovakia for Germany. This is clear evidence of Hitler privately initiating war with his inner circle and violating appeasement policies because the demands he gave Henlein to enforce in Czechoslovakia were kept out of the public image and these demands were to eventually overrule all of Czechoslovakia. These plans inadequately follow the policy of appeasement because they prove that Hitler did not have the intentions of following through with the plans he made in the Munich Agreement. While Hitler did agree to follow the