Name:________________________________________
Aim 7: Were the British and French attempts at appeasement reasonable or foolish?
Germany’s actions (1933-1939)
October, 1929 – US Stock Market Crash
January 30, 1933 – Adolf Hitler legally became Chancellor of Germany
July 14, 1933 – The Nazi party declared the only legal political party
October 14, 1933 – Germany quit the League of Nations (they were permitted to join in 1926)
August 19, 1934 – German President Hindenburg died, Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer (absolute leader)
March 16, 1935 – Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by issuing a military draft
March 7, 1936 –Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by sending German troops into the
demilitarized Rhineland bordering France
August 1, 1936 – The Olympics began in Berlin
March 12, 1938 – German troops marched into Austria (where most people welcomed them) and soon
annexed the whole country
September 30, 1938 – The British and French governments appeased Hitler at the Munich Conference by
granting him the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia
November 9-10, 1938 – Kirstallnacht (Night of broken glass) thousands of Jews arrested and sent to concentration
camps, their businesses, synagogues and homes destroyed, and hundreds killed
March 15, 1939 – Germany took control of all of Czechoslovakia
September 1, 1939 – Germany invaded Poland and World War II began
At what point, if any, in the above timeline of events should the British and French have used military force
against Germany? Explain.
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British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
VS
Future Prime Minister Winston Churchill
“With a little good will and determination, it is possible
to remove grievances and clear away suspicion…We
must try to bring these four nations into friendly
discussion. If they can settle their differences, we shall
save the peace of Europe for a generation.
I shall not give up hope of a peaceful solution…We
sympathize with a small nation (Czechoslovakia) faced
by a big and powerful neighbour. Be we cannot involve
the whole British Empire in war simply on her account.
If we have to fight, it must be on larger issues than
that…I am a man of peace…Yes if I were sure that any
nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by
fear of its force, I should feel that it must be
resisted…But war is a fearful thing.”
-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in a
speech to Parliament 1938
“I have always held the view that keeping peace
depends on holding back the aggressor. After Hitler’s
seizure of Austria in March, I appealed to the
government. I asked that Britain, together with France
and other powers, guarantee the security of
Czechoslovakia. If that course had been followed,
events would not have fallen into this disastrous state…
in time, Czechoslovakia will be swallowed by the Nazi
regime… I think of all the opportunities to stop the
growth of Nazi power which have been thrown away.
The responsibility must rest with those who have control
of our political affairs. They neither prevented
Germany from rearming, nor did they rearm us in
time…The belief that security can be won by throwing a
small state to the wolves is a fatal delusion.”
- Winston Churchill in a speech to British
Parliament 1938
How did Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
wish to deal with Hitler’s demands for land?
Why?
How did Winston Churchill want to deal with
Hitler’s demands for land? Why?
Would you have agreed more with Chamberlain or Churchill in the 1930s PRIOR TO THE INVASION OF
POLAND. Explain.
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