France was paralyzed by an internal political crisis
and did not even have a government at the time.
Italy was now increeasingly dependent on German
friendship and refused to respond to Chancellor
Schuschinigg's appeals​.
The LON was discredited after the Abyssinian affair
and Anschluss was not even referred for discussion.
Britain proposed that Germany should be allowed
to have an army of 200,000, that France should also
reduce its army to 200,00000, and Germany should
be allowed an air force half the size of the French air
force.
International Response to to Anschluss
(1938)
In Britain, there was a feeling that Germany's union
with Austria was inevitable.
A conference was held at Stresa in Italy, and they
reaffirmed their commitment to Locarno and to
Austrian independence.
International reaction to
rearmament(1935)
French government wanted to support the Spanish
government but in the end came up with the idea of
non-intervention.
Second development was initiated by Britain and it
offended both the French and Italian Government.
Three developments took place that undermined this
united front.
International reaction to Spanish Civil
War(1936)
Britain wanted to prevent the Spanish Civil War
becoming a wider conflict and so agreed with the
French plan
First, France concluded the Franco-Soviet Mutual
Assistance Treaty with Russia.
Third development which undermined the Stresa Front
was Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia in October 1935.
International Response to German
Aggression, 1933-1940
The French government at the rime was only a
"caretaker" government and thus was not in a
position to consider war. Thus no opposition was
faced by Hitler.
Hitler's takeover of the rest of Czechoslovakia in
March 1939, caused great shock and outrage in
Britain. Thus there was a shift of opinion in Britain,
and Chamberlain was put under pressure to take a
firmer stand against Hitler.
International reaction to remilitarisation
of the Rhineland(1936)
International reaction to German
aggression in Czechoslovakia
(1939)
Britain was also unwilling to contemplate war over
the Rhineland and they did not see Hitler's action as
particularly threatening.
The historical debate
On 31 March 1939, Britain offered a guarantee to
Poland which said that, if it was the victim of an
unprovoked attack, Britain would come to its aid.
France gave a similar assurances.
When Mussolini invaded Albania on 7 April,
Britain and France also gave guarantees to Greece
and Romania. In May, Britain further strengthened
its position in the Eastern Mediterranean by
negotiating an agreement with Turkey for mutual
assistance in case of war in the Mediterranean
area.
Appeasers seen as weak, if they were not weak, Hitler
would have been stopped earlier e.g.. during in 1936
over the Rhineland or over Czechoslovakia
International reaction to Hitler's demands
regarding Poland(1939)
AJP Taylor argues Hitler had no clear plan on foreign
policy aims, and reacted to the actions of the European
leaders
Importance of Appeasement as a cause of the
Second World War
Meanwhile, both Britain and France stepped up
military preparations. In fact, by 1939, it was clear
that Britain and France were in a much stonger
military position than they had been in 1938, and this
fact, too, allowed them to take a firmer stand agaisnt
Hitler. Air defence and the introduction of radar was
near completion in Britain and the rearmament
programme was also set to reach a peak in 1939-40.
Thus the military power of Britain was on roughly
equal terms with Germany.
However, 30-40 years later through government
papers, it can be seen that Chamberlain was in a
difficult position and therefore appeasement was forced
due to the circumstances
Richard Ovary's opinion is that at that time
Chamberlain's policy was right because it caused Hitler
to go to war earlier than planned and at a time when
Britain was militarily stronger than it had been in 1938