Andrea Gomez
Period 5
World History
A Mistake
It encouraged Hitler- Giving into Hitler only made him feel he could do what he wanted- withouht fear of being stopped.
Germany was growing stronger- Allowed Germany to grow stronger meant it would be far more difficult to defeat.
Hitler was determined to conquer eastern europe- Hitler had made his plan clear- the policy of appeasement was clearly doomed from the start- Hitler just lied.
Munich Agreement was a disaster- Churchill said Czechoslavakia was sacrificed for nothing- Hitler had fooled everyone.
Not A Mistake
Britian needed time- By giving Hitler what he wanted, Britian had more time to build up her armed forces.
Germany deserved a fair deal- Germany was treated too harshly at Versailles, so were only being given their rightful land.
The British people had to want war- In 1938, public opinion was against war- so the policy of appeasment was sensible.
Fear of another war- People wanted to avoid another terrible war and did everything possible.
Appeasement scared the USSR- When Britian and France did not stand up to Hitler, the USSR became worried about German power- and began thinking about deals with Hitler.
Fear of Communisim- It was felt better to support a strong leader of Germany rather than risk Communist takeover.
1.) Why might it be said that Germany deserved a fair deal?
Germany should have gotten a fair deal because first of all the treaty of versailles made them resonsible for the whole war which made them get in a lot of debt. The other leaders should have thought it true and asked themselves what Germany would possibly do to get out of debt because getting all that money would be next to impossible. If the leaders that made the treaty of versailles would have handled things better it MAYBE possible that WWII would have not happened.
2.) Why was giving extra land to Germany dangerous?
Giving extra land to Germany was dangerous because it made Germany more powerful. As they gained more land they had to have a stronger army and more land that the opposing armies had to attack.
3.) Appeasement meant Britian and France gave Hitler what he wanted- why was this a bad idea?
This meant they just gave Hitler what he wanted even though he was in the wrong, I understand why they did it but it wasn't the best desiscion. This meant Hitler now knew if he wanted something it wouldn't be hard to get because either they would give it to him or he would fight for it since he was aware they were afraid of starting a war.
4.) What did the policy of appeasement give Britian a chance to do?
It gave Britian more chance to prepare for war and get everything together so they could be strong.
5.) Is there any evidence to suggest appeasement was a popular idea in 1938?
Yes, the fact that most people at that time appossed the idea of war meant they would do whatever to not go to war.
6.) What did people want to avoid another war?
The first world war was bad. Countries lost many people and it was dangerous to a lot of people. Also WWI was called the war to end all wars so generally people didn't want to cause another war after the devasting first world war.
7.) Appeasement meant a strong German leader was supported- how did this benefit Britian and France?
This benefited Britian and France because while Hitler was satsfied with the few land he got the other countries were preparing and making sure they were strong for the war to come.
8.)With the policy of appeasement, the USSR became worried- what was the result of this?
They wanted peace so they were worried that someone would do something to mess everything up and it would lead to war.
9.) Why should the politicians of 1938 have realised Hitler would not keep to his promise at the Munich Conference?
They should've known that Hitler would've only wanted more land after he got what he wanted the first time. He would only continue to crave more land it wouldn't solve the problem of an upcoming war.
Extension 1:
I will confidently like to say that the Munich Conference was a success. We managed to successfully come to an agreement that I believe, will be a good thing in the long run. War is a scary thing, after the last world war I, and many other people, believe that this can make us steer clear for a while of going through that again. As much as I hate to say this, we cannot confidently say that war will not happen because we don't know what will happen. In the meantime before we know the results of any of this we should prepare for the worst, build up your armies, be aware of your surroundings, and don't trust too easily. But of course we can't completely blame them for we are to blame too. The treaty of versailles was a harsh way to deal with anything, and it started worse problems rather than fixing the already bad ones. We should have taken some responsibility in what we did because we also participated in the war and killed people, but alas we cannot change the past the only thing we can do is wish for a better future. I believe the Munich Conference went very smoothly and I hope Germany is satisfied with what they now have so that we can finally live in peace.
The Munich Conference was a failure. Everything about it is wrong, negotiating with the enemy is smart if you know how to do it right, the way that Chamberlain dealt with this was not the right way. Giving Hitler that piece of land was only going to encourage him to want more, since he got some why can't he get more? Not to mention it makes him more powerful. If you give him more land he will build up his army and he will attack, I have no doubt he will break his promise. Not to be fooled, Hitler is a very smart man, he knows how to get into people's heads and manipulate them to his advantage. The thing that Chamberlain doesn't understand is that Hitler will not want peace he is starting a war that he has the upper hand to. There's one thing I have to admit that came out of this, it's that we now can build up our armies and fight full force against the armies of Hitler. I just wish it can be enough, only God knows what terrible lengths that man will go to, to get what he wants.
Extension 2:
Extension 3:
My opinion over appeasement was that it was a mistake. Everyone should've known that Hitler was not to be trusted although I do understand why it was done and the effort to make that happen. War is a scary thing and it makes sense that they would try everything to make it not happen. But it was still not the correct decision to make because Hitler would only want more, and more, and more. Hitler didn't want peace he wanted revenge and was hungry for more power. Either way war did eventually happen and it killed millions so it didn't really work.