When Hitler annexed Austria, neither the League of Nations nor Western politicians did anything concrete to stop him. When Hitler demanded the Sudetenland, Britain and France gave in. When he took over the rest of Czechoslovakia, they again did nothing. It was not until Hitler invaded Poland that the Chamberlain of England and Daladier of France finally did something, but by then it was too late. These countries seemed to let World War II happen. The question is why?

The reason why the rest of the world allowed Hitler and Mussolini to have their way in Europe is that they had not paid a great deal of attention to the events going on in Europe. For North Americans, since Europe was all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, we had a sense of isolationism and seemed at a distance from the events. Another reason is that the governments of the world were following a policy of appeasement. In effect, this meant letting Hitler have what he wanted. The Allies, lead by England and France, hoped that eventually Hitler would be satisfied and another war could be avoided.

Appeasement was a popular policy in Canada and around the world. Many people believed that it was only fair for Germany to get back what it had lost in the Treaty of Versailles. Few people outside of Germany had bothered to read Hitler’s book Mein Kampf and did not know what his plans were. Few politicians realized that there was no limit to Hitler’s ambitions for lebensraum (living space) for the German people.  Some historians have since criticized the policy of appeasement, but at the time there were only a few people who opposed it. The question remains unanswered, was appeasement a mistake?


Determine whether the following historical facts support or oppose the policy of appeasement.

Argument
Does it support appeasement or Not? Explain.
Fear of Communism
The Russian army was forced to withdraw from World War I when a communist revolution in their country forced the Tsar and his family from power. This revolution led to many wealthy people in Russia losing their homes and their money to the new rulers of their country. Under communism, private property was not allowed and millions of people were murdered when the communists used force to make people follow their ideas. In fact, there was not a lot of difference between the Communist leaders and Hitler. They were both ruthless in their persecution of political dissidents and non-believers. Many people in Canada believed that Hitler was the strong arm of Europe and he would be able to hold the Soviets back so that they would not be able to take over Europe and the rest of the World.






Germany Deserved a Fair Deal :
By the 1930s, many people in Canada accepted the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh on Germany. The conditions set out in the Treaty, people thought, would doom Germany to a future of misery and despair. If there was any sense of justice in the world, Germany should at least be given back the territory and the people it had lost in 1919. If Canadians were separated from each other would it not be fair to allow them to be together again? What about if your own family was separated? Many politicians thought that if the Germans were allowed to be one again they might be content and settle down.




Canadians Had to Want War:
In 1938 not many Canadians thought that it would be worth fighting over the tiny little country of Czechoslovakia. Canadian public opinion was not united behind the idea of war. It would have been political suicide for King and his Liberals to be overly aggressive with Germany. They would have most likely been voted out of office in the next election. However, when Hitler broke the promise that he had made to the British Prime Minister at the Munich Agreement, Canadian public opinion took a dramatic swing towards a war to stop Hitler. When Hitler invaded Poland, public opinion in Canada changed to generally support Canada's going to war.