British Appeasement

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The policy of British Appeasement prior to World War Two was the only reasonable response to the diplomatic crises occurring in Europe. After decades of criticism and judgment it is clear that Neville Chamberlain’s approach to dealing with Adolf Hitler was the only way that made a global conflict avoidable. This paper will argue that appeasement had certain advantages that were important in assisting Neville Chamberlain’s cause. One way that appease was useful in this situation was the neutralizing of nations considered as threats. Nations such as Germany and Italy were seen as a threat to democracy and needed to be levelled. Appeasement allowed for these threats to decrease by giving the leaders materials and territory to prevent invasions …show more content…
Aggressor states such as Italy and Germany had fascist leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini who wanted to dominate Europe. These aggressions were problematic and threatened the peaceful state of European affairs. Chamberlain’s idea to appease would help to ease European tensions. The re-establishment of cordial Anglo-German relations would neutralize the danger from Italy and significantly reduce pomposity. The neutralization of an Italian threat through an alliance with Germany would count as neutralizing both threats through alliances. Appeasement offered this option to Chamberlain and he chose to take advantage of it. This makes perfect sense as the desire to preserve peace and prevent conflict means that leaders need to do what is necessary to protect their states and people. Chamberlain believed that war would only make things worse for his country and possibly everyone else as well. Neutralizing and isolating these threats was one of Chamberlain’s main concerns and appeasement was the resource he needed to produce these results. This decision making shows the leader Neville Chamberlain was. What made Chamberlain different from other statesmen was his single minded pursuit of a particular course of action once he had determined it to be correct. During his speech to parliament in the House of Commons in 1938 Chamberlain explained that his decision to appease was necessary to reinstate peaceful relations to Europeans who wished to have friendly ties. It was also clear that the preresequite for peaceful relations in Europe was the consolidation of western relations throughout Europe. This was significant because Chamberlain’s intentions of neutralizing threats clearly motivated his decision to use appeasement. While he had been ridiculed for his decision to preserve peace and appease Hitler, it is
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