Britain’s Policy of Appeasement on Hitler

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  1. Why
    did Britain follow a policy of appeasement towards Hitler before World War II?

Appeasement policy within the international context refers to a diplomatic manner of making material or political concessions to an overly aggressive power in order to avoid war and conflict. The policy was often applied to the British government foreign policy under the leadership of Neville Chamberlain, Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald towards Germany between 1935 and 1939. Britain’s Policy of Appeasement on Hitler was to check his aggression that could have resulted to another war. Britain hoped to avoid war by allowing Hitler to expand his territory unchecked. Apart from the main reason of avoiding slaughter in another world war, the appeasement policy was popular for other several reasons. Firstly, appeasement was based on public opinion. There was an increasing evidence that most of the populations were opposed to another war. Pacifism had already sprout and pacifists encouraged populations to renounce war and not to support it at whatever costs.

Secondly, Britain had been overstretched policing its empire and could hardly finance another war.  The country could hardly afford rearmament and had already cut defense spending following the First World War. Out of over 100, 000 aircraft serving in the First World War, only 120 were operational three years later. As a result, the country exhibited a major military weakness which it could hardly overcome. Thirdly, British did not have any reliable allies to support the country in an event of another war. In 1920, after the win of a republican president, the country vowed to return to normalcy which meant withdrawal from European affairs. Britain knew that it could no longer count on America. Fourthly, many Britons sympathized with Germans citing that they were unfairly treated following the 1918 defeat.

  1. Why didn′t the United States move to stop the initial aggressive moves of Germany, Italy, and Japan? What political movement in the USA contributed to the USA staying out of the war at first?
  2. In the years before the war, why did Britain and France refuse the Russian overtures for an alliance?
  3. Why did Stalin want a Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact?
  4. Why did Hitler agree to a Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact? Where did Hitler want to be free to attack without having to worry about a second major battlefront with Russia?
  5. How did the League of Nations respond to Italy′s invasion of Ethiopia?
  6. What country did Hitler invade which caused France and Britain to declare war?
  7. What was different between WWI and WWII which allowed Germany to push so strongly against France and Britain in WWII? Be sure to include the following in your answer: Information about the number of fighting fronts the Germans fought on in the spring of 1940 compared to 1914. New weapons systems and tactics that helped the Germans conquer France easily.
  8. What was the Rape of Nanking? Be sure to include the location of Nanking and the date of the atrocity in your answer.
  9. Why did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?
  10. What helped the Russians begin winning the war in the east?
  11. What military force captured Berlin in the spring of 1945?
  12. Go online and find out about the Battle of Normandy. Write a paragraph about it here, and cite your source in MLA format. Be sure to include the following in your answer: What made the Normandy Invasion unique? The short and long term objectives of the Normandy Invasion? A description of the events that happened on D-Day. The importance of the Normandy Invasion to the outcome of the war.
  13. What happened to Hitler during the final days of the war?
  14. What happened to Mussolini during the final days of the war?
  15. What technological development ended the war and dominated post-war policy? Give details on how the technology was used, identify the country that used this new weapon, and name the two cities the new weapon was used upon. Your answer should be a paragraph in length.
  16. After Japan loses the war, what happens to Japan? How did the status of the Japanese emperor change?
  17. What were the charges against Germany at the Nuremberg trials?
  18. In the trial of Goering and others responsible for the Holocaust, what was the evidence presented by the prosecution?
  19. What was the purpose of the formation of the United Nations?