Appeasement: For and Against

This diagram covers Appeasement: For and Against within Appeasement for GCSE History. Revise Appeasement in Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears less often, but it can still be a useful differentiator on mixed-topic papers. It is section 6 of 16 in this topic. Focus on the labels, the relationships between parts, and the explanation that turns the diagram into an exam-ready answer.

📊 Appeasement: For and Against

Was Chamberlain right or wrong? Both sides have valid points for essays

✓ Arguments FOR Appeasement

Versailles WAS unfair: Many felt Germany had been treated too harshly. Hitler was just "undoing injustice."

Fear of war: Memory of WW1 horrors. Public strongly anti-war. 1935 Peace Ballot: 90%+ wanted disarmament.

Britain wasn't ready: Rearmament only started 1936. Appeasement bought time to prepare.

Fear of communism: Many saw Nazi Germany as barrier against Soviet communism.

No allies: USA isolationist. France weak. USSR distrusted. Who would help?

✗ Arguments AGAINST Appeasement

Encouraged Hitler: Each success made him bolder. Rhineland → Austria → Sudetenland → Poland.

Made Germany stronger: Each gain gave Hitler more resources, industry, strategic position.

Betrayed allies: Czechoslovakia sacrificed at Munich without being consulted.

Missed chances: Rhineland 1936 — only 22,000 German troops with orders to retreat if France acted; France had ~250,000 available. Hitler admitted later (via Speer) this would have forced a humiliating German withdrawal.

Hitler couldn't be trusted: He broke every promise. "Last territorial demand" — then took all Czechoslovakia.