The Road to WWII: Appeasement

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1Summary 重點摘要

In the late 1930s Britain and France appeased Hitler: tolerating rearmament, the Anschluss, and the Sudetenland grab (Munich Agreement, 1938). September 1939: Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war — WWII began.

2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary

3Step by step Steps

1. Treaty brokenAfter taking power in 1933 Hitler dismantled the Treaty of Versailles step by step: Germany left the League of Nations and rearmed in secret; in 1935 conscription and an air force returned openly; and in 1936 troops marched into the demilitarised Rhineland. Britain and France, mired in economic hardship and anti-war feeling, offered only verbal protest without action, confirming Hitler's belief that they would not fight — and his boldness grew accordingly.
2. AnnexationsIn March 1938 German troops entered Austria and the Anschluss was accomplished; Austria was swallowed whole, and Britain and France again did nothing. Hitler then turned on Czechoslovakia, claiming that the German-speakers of the Sudetenland were being 'persecuted' and demanding the region's cession. To avoid war Britain and France were driven to the negotiating table, and appeasement moved toward its climax.
3. MunichIn September 1938 British prime minister Chamberlain, French premier Daladier and the German and Italian dictators met at Munich; the Czechoslovak representative was not even admitted, and the four powers agreed to cede the Sudetenland to Germany. Chamberlain returned proclaiming 'peace for our time', and the public breathed a sigh of relief; yet within a year Germany seized the whole of Czechoslovakia and the 'peace' collapsed entirely.
4. WarIn March 1939 Germany took the rest of Czechoslovakia, proving appeasement bankrupt; on 23 August Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact that removed the fear of a two-front war; and on 1 September German forces attacked Poland, whereupon Britain and France, as Poland's allies, declared war on 3 September. Years of concession had not bought peace — they had only hastened the coming of the Second World War.
5. LessonThe lesson of appeasement runs deep: conceding to an aggressor only feeds its appetite, and indulgence buys no real peace. After the war 'Munich' became a byword for weakness and appeasement in international relations, and the powers embraced the principle of resisting aggression early; the collective-defence alliances and containment policies of the post-war years all bore the imprint of this lesson, warning later generations not to repeat the mistake.
6. The Spanish Civil War rehearsalDuring the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939, Germany and Italy sent forces to aid Franco's side while the Soviet Union aided the Republic; new weapons and tactics were tested in real combat, and Guernica was bombed by German aircraft with terrible civilian losses — an atrocity Picasso made world-famous in paint. The war was seen as a dress rehearsal for the next great war, yet Britain and France insisted on non-intervention, as indulgent as ever.
7. The ladder of annexationsHitler expanded by probing step by step: the Rhineland in 1936 met no response from Britain or France; Austria was annexed in 1938; the Sudetenland came at Munich the same year; and the rest of Czechoslovakia followed in March 1939. Each success emboldened the next move — concession did not satisfy the ambition but became the ladder to the next round of aggression, right up to the outbreak of war.

4Diagrams Diagrams

5Worked example Example

6Common mistakes Mistakes

7Quick check Quick check

8Recap Recap

• Appeasement fed the aggressor
• Munich (1938) → Poland (1939)
• Lesson: stop expansion early
• The Nazi–Soviet Pact (Aug 1939) spared Hitler a two-front war
• 1 Sept 1939: Poland invaded → Britain and France declare war