What is appeasement policy?

In the 1930s, before the start of the Second World War, Britain and France adopted the Appeasement Policy towards the Axis powers, which included Germany, Italy and Japan. This policy originally aimed at preventing wars. However, it turned out in encouraging the Axis powers to demand more territories.

Appeasement policy is a kind of diplomatic policy, which granted concessions to the aggressive powers by satisfying their demands with the belief that the aggressive powers would be satisfied and stop to cause troubles. Appeasement policy aims to maintain stability, preserve the peaceful society and to prevent wars. However, the Aggressive powers usually became more aggressive because this policy gave them what they wanted. In the 1930s, the Axis Powers often demand for lands and Britain and France often appeased them and did not take any actions. This result in making the Axis Powers more aggressive.

There were several examples of Appeasement Policy between Britain and France in the 1930s. One of the most representative ones was the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. As there were a large population of German living in Sudetenland in the western part of Czechoslovakia, and Sudetenland was a rich industrial area, Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany demanded for Sudetenland. After knowing the German’s demand for Sudetenland, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arranged the Munich Conference in order to avoid a general war. The Munich Conference was held in Munich in Germany in September 1938. Except Chamberlain and Hitler, the French Prime minister Eduard Daladier and the Fascist leader Benito Mussolini were also present at the Munich Conference but Czechoslovakia was absent. From the Munich Conference, the Munich Agreement was settled that Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia would be given to Germany provided that Germany would not demand further land in Czechoslovakia. The Munich Agreement indicated the climax of Appeasement Policy. And the agreement was not enough to satisfy Germany’s demand but in return making Germany more aggressive. Finally, in March 1939, Germany annexed the whole of Czechoslovakia.

After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Britain and France finally realized that appeasement policy was a useless way of stopping the Axis Powers’ aggression. When Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France decided to give up the Appeasement Policy towards Germany and declared war on Germany and the Second World War was then broken out.