Appeasement was a foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved country through negotiation in order to prevent war. The prime example is Britain’s policy toward Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. British Prime Minister, N....
moreAppeasement was a foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved country through negotiation in order to prevent war. The prime example is Britain’s policy toward Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. British Prime Minister, N. Chamberlain sought to accommodate Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and took no action when Germany absorbed Austria in 1938. When Hitler prepared to annex ethnically German portions of Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain negotiated the notorious Munich Agreement, which permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland, in western Czechoslovakia. The idea behind appeasement was Christian pacifism - peaceful rather than violent or belligerent relations should govern human intercourse; arbitration, surrender, or migration should be used to resolve disputes. Pacifism became widespread as a reaction to the scale of killing in the WW I and the use of universal male conscription, and gained further support after the creation of nuclear weapons. However, the Holocaust, and other industrial scale abuses of human rights, caused many to think that there could be cases when war was the least-bad course of action. Appeasement was a huge mistake on the part of the Allied nations. It is what caused WWII to occur on an even larger scale than WWI as it allowed Nazis to gain an enormous amount of power and time, posing a threat to all of Europe. Appeasement emboldened Hitler’s aggression as he gained increased confidence after annexing each new piece of land without any intervention by the League of Nations. Appeasement led to WWII. As Hitler continued to invade territories and build a military capable of fighting a major war—despite the Treaty of Versailles—Britain and France allowed him to continue, hoping he would leave them alone if they left him alone. As Sikorski (2008: 14) noted, ''In Western Europe, our friends like to say that they went to war for Poland in 1939. What actually happened was that Britain and France declared war, but then did not lift a finger to help us.'' Although allied help came late, appeasement, provided the Allies with more time to prepare for war. The idea that the Munich Agreement had restored peace fooled the Allies into a stagnant state since none of them were fully prepared for the war when it arrived. Some people saw Communism as the biggest threat to European stability. They thought that Germany could act as a buffer, especially as Hitler was very anti-Communist, besides Britain was not ready for war. In reality, the policy of appeasement is what allowed Hitler to successfully transfer troops to the Rhineland in 1936 which led to further military actions (eg the annexation of Austria). Hitler later said that the march into the Rhineland was one of the most stressful periods of his life since he knew that if the French opposed them they were not strong enough to put up a decent resistance and would have to withdraw. If the Allied nations had intervened collectively at this point in time, then perhaps Germany’s increasing military aggression could have been suppressed and WWII could have been averted (or at least reduced in size). But the policy of appeasement gave Hitler what he wanted and nurtured Germany's confidence in Hitler’s plans of European domination. The annexation of new lands by Germany contributed to the increase in German strength. For example, the Rhineland provided Germany with stronger defence of its borders and Austria provided Germany with gold, weapons, soldiers, and deposits of iron ore (which resulted in the increased production of munitions). All of these things that increased Germany’s strength and contributed to the enormous scale of destruction in WWII when the direct clash happened. Appeasement was a mistake as it provided the public and politicians with the misconception that peace was restored and war averted when Germany’s demands were met. This prevented people from realizing Hitler’s true goals (world domination — as stated in 'Mein Kampf') and taking action to stop him earlier on. The Allied leaders had simply been tricked into a passive state by Hitler. Appeasement was a mistake since it allowed Germany to make agreements with other countries (which Germany was not allowed to do according to the Treaty of Versailles), increasing German confidence in its military dominance. For example, nothing was done in 1936 when the Rome-Berlin Axis formalized the alliance between Italy and Germany. Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact, Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. This occurred because Russia observed that the allies had not stood up to Hitler when he had invaded Czechoslovakia, he thought that the allies would adopt the same nonchalance if Hitler attacked Russia. So, the Nazi-Soviet Pact was made. This pact (in which Russia and Germany secretly agreed to divide Poland between them) permitted Germany to invade Poland, effectively starting WWII. It also increased Germany’s influence in Europe to the east and temporarily removed a major power from the Allied side. All of this contributed to the enlarged scale of destruction and death during WWII. Appeasement was a mistake since it failed to achieve its one goal, keep the peace. Chamberlain, felt it was his duty to ''strain every nerve to avoid a repetition of the WWI.'' Even if the Allied leaders themselves had decided earlier on that military action was necessary, it is quite likely that they would not have had enough volunteers to sustain a proper military campaign. The citizens of Allied nations mainly supported the policy of appeasement and were not willing to go to war over small, new, foreign lands that they had never heard of before in their lives. At that time, many people did not see Hitler as a threat and very few outside of Germany knew what he was really planning (although he had outlined many of his ideas in 'Mein Kampf'). Many politicians thought that if Germany could regain its national pride and the territories it had lost after WWI then perhaps a war could be avoided. Perhaps it would have been possible to influence the public opinion through propaganda in order to garner support for stopping Hitler. Then maybe the Allies could have set up an armed force large enough to stop Hitler in the Rhineland (since his forces were weak there). However, the Allied leaders themselves had little idea of Hitler’s true intentions, so they likely had similar opinions to the public at the time and did not wish to engage in armed conflict. The Allies had decreased their armies after the end of WWI while Germany had started doing just the opposite once Hitler came to power. The Allies needed more time. Lastly, many people believed that Nazi Germany was a necessary asset in holding back the communists from Europe and the rest of the world. Appeasement was quite popular, people did not yet understand the magnitude of Hitler’s plans for all of Europe, they feared the start of another world war. Appeasement seemed a pragmatic option that will keep the peace. People naively believed in Hitler's promises underestimating military expansionism. Instead, allied leaders should have put in place an immediate threat of crippling economic sanctions, a robust force posture and an assertive strategy. Above all, the Allies should have prepared a united front and a response - when attack occurs on one country others are ready to stand up in collective self-defence to quickly disarm an aggressor. The absence of a firm Western response only encouraged Nazis to act aggressively without impunity. When dealing with an opportunistic aggressor that will continue to make demands, including the seizure of territory, as long as the costs and risk of doing so are manageable, coercive strategies work better than reassurance/appeasement ones. Martin Wight (1978: 137, 143) was right, “War is inevitable, but particular wars can be avoided.'' Appeasement could have been avoided, instead it dictated when and how WW II started and it likely influenced both the length and magnitude of the war (considering how long it took for the Allies to get involved, had there been an earlier action much of human suffering would have been prevented). The lesson on how to prevent small wars turning into world wars - appeasement of any kind, notably concessions to dictators, only fed their appetites. Appeasement caused tensions to build up for far too long, thus resulting in a war that affected much of the globe. It impacted much of the 20th Century through the foreign relations that it created. Tense Russian-American relations originated from the decision to appease Hitler. Appeasement was simply the dire circumstances of the war that eventually threw them together. After the end of the war, these tensions increased, resulting in the Cold War and the deadly nuclear arms race that threatened world peace once again. It is important to understand the meaning of appeasement and its implications to properly assess and act on future world conflicts.
