Policy of Appeasement

1. Policy of Appeasement Source: By Alexis Cheney, Foothill College   From the Internet Book, Western Civilization Hillary Harvey is AMAZING!!!

2. Appeasement • embraced in vain by Great Britain and France in the 1930s • a bid to reach a peaceful understanding with Germany • The major powers were anxious to abort any German influence over Eastern Europe • Czechoslovakia remained the sole nation who relied upon support from Great Britain and France

4. Appeasement in Inaction • Invasion of Ethiopia • On May 5, 1936, the Italians invaded the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa • used both merciless air power and indiscriminate poisonous gassings • On June 30, 1936, Haile Selassie appealed to the League of Nations Assembly for league assistance • the League imposed feeble economic restraints on the aggressors • After proving ineffective, the measures were dropped, • led Mussolini towards an alliance with Hitler • and the idea that subsequent actions would result in similar leniency.

6. Appeasement in Inaction • The Anschluss of Austria • On 9th March 1938, the Austrian Chancellor announced a bid for the independence of Austria • Hitler took this as an opportunity to take action against the Austrian State • The National Socialists formed a new government and the Austrian National Socialists took power in Austria. • March 1938, troops of the German Wehrmacht and the SS crossed the German-Austrian border • Hitler announced the “Anschluss” (Annexation) of Austria into the German Reich

9. Appeasement in Inaction • Rhineland Occupation • in 1935, Hitler announced that Germany was rearming itself, a fervent violation of the Treaty of Versailles • In 1936, Hitler continued to disobey the Treaty by mobilizing troops to the French-occupied Rhineland • France and Great Britain were at odds there was a lack of support for France from Great Britain • Hitler was allowed to believe that his defiance of the Treaty of Versailles was tolerable.

11. Appeasement in Inaction • Following the German conquest of the Rhineland and Italian success in Ethiopia, the various dictatorial regimes of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia were quick to emulate the forms and methods of their Fascist and National-Socialist mentors.

12. Interactive Map • http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/euro1935.htm

13. Appeasement in Inaction • As the Allies feared a Fascist-dominated Europe, the western democracies were faced with two alternatives • opposition by force 2. negotiations which would ultimately end in concessions to Nazi Germany

14. Munich Pact • August 1938, negotiations began after local German officials said the Sudeten people had been discriminated against by the Czech government • On September 29, 1938, the Munich Pact, which allowed for the cession of four specific districts of the Sudetenland to Germany, was signed • By 1939, it was abundantly clear that the policy of appeasement had rendered ineffective by any standard.

17. The End of Appeasement • On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, believing Britain and France would not intervene • Earlier in March, 1939, a British-French alliance pledged to aide Poland with all available power • "...in the event of any action which clearly threatened Polish independence and which the Polish Government accordingly considered it vital to resist with their national forces," (Neville Chamberlain) • On September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war against Hitler and Nazi Germany.

21. WWII Begins • The commencement of World War II forced the western allies to realize the flaws of the policy of appeasement • appeasement appeared to be the solution to all problems but it ensured a peace that would have been very costly to maintain • appeasement was a course that tended to ignore some hard political ideas