The policy of Appeasement was a policy followed by the British and later French, to avoid another war with aggressive powers such as Japan, Italy, Germany by giving way to their demands provided they were not too unreasonable. The beginning of appeasement policy can be seen in British policy during the 1920s with Dawes and Young plans. This policy reached its peak at Munich where the UK and France so determined to avoid war presented Hitler with Sudetenland setting in motion the destruction of Czechoslovakia.

Some Examples Of Policy Of Appeasement

1. No action was taken to check the obvious German rearmament.
2. Anglo-German Naval Agreement, condoning German rearmament was done without consulting France or Italy.
3. Only half-hearted action by the UK when Italy invaded Abyssinia.
4. Neither Britain nor France intervened in the Spanish civil war despite Italy and Germany sending decisive help.
5. When Nevile Chamberlain became PM in 1937, this policy achieved its peak. The Munich conference was seen as a major event, where Sudetenland was handed over to Germany, and also as a result of this agreement Czechoslovakia lost nearly 70 percent of its territory mostly to Germany.

How Did The Policy Of Appeasement Cause War?

1. Some historians have suggested that appeasement was largely responsible for the situation deteriorating into war. They argue that Britain and France should have taken a firm line with Hitler before Germany had become too strong.
2. An Anglo-French attack on western Germany in 1936 at the time of the Rhineland occupation would have taught Hitler a lesson and might have toppled him from power.
3. By giving way to him, the appeasers increased his prestige at home. ‘success and the absence of resistance tempted Hitler to reach out further, to take bigger risks.
4. Hitler may not have had definite plans for war, but after the surrender at Munich, he was so convinced that Britain and France would remain passive again, that he decided to gamble on war with Poland.
5. Another reason why this policy is blamed is the way the appeasers, especially Chamberlain choose to implement this policy. For example, the UK took a stand against Germany’s reasonable demand on Danzig rather than taking a stand against Sudetenland which contained a million non-Germans.
6. The UK and France declaring war against Germany for its occupation of Poland which was militarily weak and difficult to defend was a wrong decision. An appropriate stand would have been Chamberlain making his stand at Munich and backing militarily strong Czechs.

Appeasement Policy Cannot Be Completely Blamed For War

1. Many historians believe that this policy was one of the main reasons for delaying the war, and also by providing enough time for allied powers to continue their rearmament.
2. Historians argue that any normal leader of Germany would have responded positively to these appeasement policies, but unfortunately, Hitler was not a typical German leader.
3. Many historians believe that Hitler intended a major war right from the beginning. They argue that he hated communism and wanted to destroy Russia and control it permanently. Moreover, Hitler also said so on innumerable occasions, that Germany’s future could only be determined through war.
4. Based upon these observations appeasement cannot be blamed as a cause of war, except that it made things easier for Hitler.
5. Another reason which made war inevitable was Russia signing a non-aggression pact with Germany, which also included a secret agreement to partition Poland between Germany and USSR. Had Stalin allied with the west, it would have frightened Hitler into keeping the peace.

The policy of Appeasement by giving too much leeway to Hilter which emboldened him and also by not taking a stand when needed, this policy played a huge role in precipitating the war. But there are numerous other factors that led to the outbreak of war. In Fact, most historians strongly believe that the seeds of this war were sown in 1919 itself in front of the Versailles agreement.