Arguments For And Against Appeasement Remember that appeasement means to PLEASE your opponent. Between 1935 and 1939 Britain and France under Chamberlain and Deladier appeased Hitler.
Arguments supporting appeasement
Arguments against appeasement
Hitler was a buffer against communism. Stalin of the USSR was a greater threat, and the fear of communism was great.
Appeasement made Hitler more confident each time he was given something.
Britain’s Empire was not willing to go to War over the Rhineland, Austria or the Sudetenland.
If Britain and France had stood up to Hitler during the German occupation of the Rhineland, Hitler admitted he would have withdrawn – The event was the “Most nerve wrecking 48 hours of my life”.
The British people were not interested in a war over the above issues either. By 1939, they realised they had no option. Appeasement allowed Britain to go to War in 1939 a united nation.
Russia (USSR) reaslised that Britain and France were not willing to stand against Hitler. This meant that they lost Russia as a potential ally against Hitler. Stalin would make his own deal with Hitler as a result to save the USSR.
Britain need the time period 1945-1939 to re-arm. They were not ready for War. Chamberlain ordered the rearmament of the Air Force in this time, which would eventually save Britain. Britain was in the middle of a recession; the people were poor and in no mood for War. Britain could not afford another War and there was no public desire for one after WW1.