‘Appeasement was a sensible response to Hitler’s aggression.’ How far do
you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
One of the reasons why appeasement was a sensible response, is because at
the time of action, Britain was too military weak to stand up to Hitler. To many
people in Britain it looked like German forces were much stronger than the
british army. That was partially because british military equipment was
seriously out of date, while Germany was having a full-scale rearmament.
Meanwhile Britain only started to rearm properly in 1938, and earlier work was
only partial. The only strength of Britain was its navy, yet it only had 352
thousand troops in 1937 against german few millions. In those circumstances it
wouldn’t be sensible for Britain to get into war with Germany. Appeasement
looked like the most reasonable response, as it firstly bought some time for
Britain to rearm and also gave hope that the war can be avoided.
Another reason why appeasement was a sensible response is because Britain
did not have enough international support to stand up to Hitler’s aggression.
Despite trying to unite with USSR and France, east and west could never come
to the agreement to the point where a union could be formed. As a result
there wasn’t enough military strength on the side oppositng Germany to fight
a war: the two-front war encircling Germany had to be cancelled. Moreover,
Britain chose to conciliate Germany instead of standing up to it, was because it
was worried that USA wouldn’t support it. During the 1920s and 30s USA was
following the policy of isolationism, where it wasn’t getting involved in foreign
conflicts or other type of events. Therefore it was reasonable for Britain to
assume that USA wouldn’t join them if it stood up against Hitler’s aggression.
Thus, it was reasonable for UK to follow appeasement instead of hostility
against Germany.
Lastly, appeasement was sensible also because of the anti-communist feeling
in Britain and Europe as a whole. USSR was seen as a dangerous country, who
was spreading an even more dangerous ideology of communism across the
Europe. Compared to Nazi Germany, many European capitalist leaders felt like
fascism is smaller evil in the “fight” between the two extremes on the political
spectrum. That’s why to them it looked sensible to appease Hitler instead of
Stalin. Moreover, by appeasing Germany Britain hoped that it will be able to
act as a buffer against Russia if a war was to break out. This was though only
possible if hitler’s aggression wouldn’t be opposed.
you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
One of the reasons why appeasement was a sensible response, is because at
the time of action, Britain was too military weak to stand up to Hitler. To many
people in Britain it looked like German forces were much stronger than the
british army. That was partially because british military equipment was
seriously out of date, while Germany was having a full-scale rearmament.
Meanwhile Britain only started to rearm properly in 1938, and earlier work was
only partial. The only strength of Britain was its navy, yet it only had 352
thousand troops in 1937 against german few millions. In those circumstances it
wouldn’t be sensible for Britain to get into war with Germany. Appeasement
looked like the most reasonable response, as it firstly bought some time for
Britain to rearm and also gave hope that the war can be avoided.
Another reason why appeasement was a sensible response is because Britain
did not have enough international support to stand up to Hitler’s aggression.
Despite trying to unite with USSR and France, east and west could never come
to the agreement to the point where a union could be formed. As a result
there wasn’t enough military strength on the side oppositng Germany to fight
a war: the two-front war encircling Germany had to be cancelled. Moreover,
Britain chose to conciliate Germany instead of standing up to it, was because it
was worried that USA wouldn’t support it. During the 1920s and 30s USA was
following the policy of isolationism, where it wasn’t getting involved in foreign
conflicts or other type of events. Therefore it was reasonable for Britain to
assume that USA wouldn’t join them if it stood up against Hitler’s aggression.
Thus, it was reasonable for UK to follow appeasement instead of hostility
against Germany.
Lastly, appeasement was sensible also because of the anti-communist feeling
in Britain and Europe as a whole. USSR was seen as a dangerous country, who
was spreading an even more dangerous ideology of communism across the
Europe. Compared to Nazi Germany, many European capitalist leaders felt like
fascism is smaller evil in the “fight” between the two extremes on the political
spectrum. That’s why to them it looked sensible to appease Hitler instead of
Stalin. Moreover, by appeasing Germany Britain hoped that it will be able to
act as a buffer against Russia if a war was to break out. This was though only
possible if hitler’s aggression wouldn’t be opposed.
