The Appeasement of Germany Prior to World War 2
“In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers.” ~Neville Chamberlain
Mrs. Patton
Introduction:
Leading up to World War 2, Germany, under the leadership of
Adolf Hitler, participated in many aggressive actions which violated the Treaty
of Versailles. France and Great Britain,
in an attempt to maintain peace in Europe so soon after The Great War, gave in to
many of Germany’s demands and actions. The policy of giving in to Germany’s
demands in order to maintain peace was known as Appeasement.
Task:
Your task, using the resources and information on this
page, is to research the policy of appeasement followed by Great Britain and
France leading up to World War 2.
·
Pretend you are
an advisor to the President to the United States prior to World War 2. You will write a one page recommendation to
the President, suggesting what policy should be followed by the United
States.
Process:
In order to properly advise
the president, you are going to use the American History Public Policy Analysis
process to look at the issue at hand.
Steps (and links to more information and directions) for the AHPPA process
are listed below:
Step 1: Identify the problem faced by the President
of the United States.
Step 2: Gather evidence regarding Germany’s actions
in Europe.
Step 3: Determine what the causes of Germany’s
actions.
Step 4: Evaluate the Policy that the nations of
Europe (specifically Great Britain and France) used in addressing Germany’s
actions.
Step 5: Identify the United States’ options in
reaction to the appeasement of Germany.
Step 6: Gather evidence supporting US options.
Step 7: Draft your recommendation to President
Roosevelt.
Resources:
1. Read this
article:
The Reasons for Appeasement, 1938
Why Chamberlain Ceded to Hitler's Demands
May 4, 2009 Sara McCleary
A number of factors affected Chamberlain's decision to follow the
policy of appeasement in dealing with Adolf Hitler in the lead-up to World War
Two.
Given the perfect vision that hindsight
allows, it is now apparent that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
should not have given in to the demands of Adolf Hitler, so why did such an
educated and experienced leader make such poor decisions regarding such a major
issue? The reasons for Chamberlain’s appeasement are many, and have their roots
in the First World War and its results.
Effects of World War One
Following World War One, few European
countries were prepared to fight another major war. Britain was still
recovering economically, and like the rest of the world was in the midst of a
depression. The Americans were insisting on maintaining their policy of isolationism,
eliminating any chance of loans to the British. Furthermore, Britain had not
yet recovered her losses of both men and arms from the First World War, so
Chamberlain was hesitant to take part in a war unless he was forced to do so.
Treaty of Versailles
The peace treaty created in 1918 also played
a major role in Chamberlain’s decision to follow the policy of appeasement.
Germany was forced to accept the Treaty of Versailles at the conclusion of
World War One, but its terms were harsh. Not only did the Germans have to pay
major reparations, particularly to France, for damage caused during the war,
they also had to give up their overseas territories, disarm, and limit troop
numbers in both the army and the navy.
Once it became clear to the people of Britain
how much the Germans were struggling because of these terms, their feelings of
guilt began to grow, and a strong desire to befriend Germany became popular
sentiment. Therefore, when Hitler began expanding German borders and rebuilding
his military, few British citizens were opposed. In fact, most felt that these
were measures that they would want their own government to take.
Lack of Allies
Chamberlain maintained his policy of
appeasement on practical grounds as well. He knew that he could not rely on the
United States to join any war effort, and that two of Britain’s former allies –
Russia and Italy – were now allied with Germany. It seemed unlikely that
Britain and France (the only ally on which Chamberlain knew he could count)
would be able to stand up to the combined forces of their enemies. Therefore,
Chamberlain followed his policy of appeasement in the hopes of preventing a war
at least until he knew who his allies were and how much they would be able to
help.
Hitler’s Cleverness
Hitler’s skill as a politician also had much
to do with Chamberlain’s decision to cede to his demands. Hitler went to great
lengths to convince Chamberlain that he was an honest, trustworthy, good
person. For instance, upon first learning that Chamberlain wanted to meet with
him in Germany in September of 1938, Hitler supposedly exclaimed that he could
not let a man of Chamberlain’s age travel so far, but that he himself must
instead go to London before realizing that this would not have been possible.
It was this sort of story that convinced Chamberlain that Hitler was a
reasonable man with reasonable aims, and that he could trust Hitler’s word.
Unfortunately, there was no
way for Chamberlain to know that appeasement would not prevent a war. In the
end, in fact, it spurred Hitler on and helped lead to the outbreak of
hostilities. At least it is now clear, though, that
Chamberlain was taking the actions that made sense to him at the time provided
the information available to him.
2. Wikipedia will explain what the policy of
appeasement is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeasement
3. Reasons for Hitler’s actions in Europe:
http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/hitfor.htm
4. Information on Germany’s agreements in
Europe:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Agreement
5. Article: “The Allied Powers’ Appeasement Toward Nazi Germany:”
http://www.suite101.com/content/the-allied-powers-appeasement-towards-nazi-germany-a290963
6. The Road to War
http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/EuropeatWar/causesofthesecondworldwar.htm
7.
Timeline of Events leading to World War 2:
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm
8. US Entrance
into World War 2:
http://www.worldwariihistory.info/WWII/United-States.html
Evaluation:
Your final recommendation
must be organized as a persuasive report from a cabinet member to President
Roosevelt supporting some sort of policy decision regarding Germany’s actions
in Europe and British and French appeasement of Germany’s demands.
Your recommendation should
meet the following formatting requirements:
- 12pt. font
- Times New Roman font
- Double spaced
- Site your sources
appropriately
The following rubric will be
used to grade your report:
|
Category |
20 |
16 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
|
Use of Sources |
Incorporates information from all 8 sources |
Incorporates information from 6 sources |
Incorporates information from 4 sources |
Incorporates information from 2 sources |
Uses only one source for information |
|
Content |
Clearly addresses all 7 aspects of the task |
Addresses 7 tasks vaguely or clearly addresses 5 tasks |
Addresses 5 tasks vaguely or clearly addresses 3 tasks |
Addresses 3 tasks vaguely or clearly addresses 2 tasks |
Addresses only or two aspects of the task with little clarity |
|
Organization |
Cabinet report is logically organized to argue a policy decision |
Cabinet report argues a policy decision but lacks logical sequence |
Report follows a logical sequence but does not argue a policy decision |
Is not written as a cabinet report but as a research assignment only |
Does not argue any policy decision and does not follow any logical sequence |
|
Length |
Two-three full pages |
One and a half pages |
One page only |
Half page report only |
Less than half a page |
|
Format |
1- 12 pt. font |
Only one format requirement missing |
Two format requirements missing |
Three format requirements missing |
Follows no format guidelines at all |
Conclusion:
You have your “marching orders.” Please work quickly on your recommendation
for President Roosevelt as America, and the world, is counting on your
recommendation. Be sure you include
specific information from your research and make realistic, appropriate
recommendations for a foreign policy.
Good luck!
Standards:
SS Standard 1:
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of major ideas, themes, developments, and turning points in the
history of the
SS Standard 5: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments, the governmental system of the US and other nations; the US Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.
ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.
ELA Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.