Conflict and Tension 1918-1939Topic Summary
Topic Summary: Appeasement 1936–1939
Part of Appeasement — GCSE History
This topic summary covers Topic Summary: Appeasement 1936–1939 within Appeasement for GCSE History. Revise Appeasement in Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 3 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 16 of 16 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 16 of 16
Practice
8 questions
Recall
3 flashcards
Topic Summary: Appeasement 1936–1939
Key Terms
- Appeasement: Policy of giving in to demands to avoid war — associated with Chamberlain 1937–40
- Munich Agreement: September 1938 deal giving Hitler the Sudetenland — Czechoslovakia not consulted
- Peace Ballot (1935): Survey showing 90%+ of British public supported disarmament
- Collective security: Principle that nations act together against aggression — failed with League
Key Dates
- 1935: Peace Ballot — 90%+ British public support disarmament
- 7 Mar 1936: Rhineland remilitarisation — 22,000 German troops; France had 250,000 but did not act
- 1936: British rearmament begins (RAF had fewer than 1,500 aircraft in 1938)
- May 1937: Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister
- 12 Feb 1938: Berchtesgaden — Hitler intimidates Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg
- 12 Mar 1938: Anschluss — German troops enter Austria; 7 million Austrians absorbed into Reich
- 29 Sep 1938: Munich Agreement — Sudetenland handed to Hitler; Czechoslovakia not consulted
- Mar 1939: Hitler seizes rest of Czechoslovakia — appeasement abandoned; guarantees to Poland
- May 1940: Chamberlain resigns; replaced by Churchill
Key People
- Neville Chamberlain: British PM, chief architect of appeasement — "peace for our time" (Sep 1938)
- Edouard Daladier: French PM who also signed Munich Agreement
- Winston Churchill: Leading critic of appeasement — warned Hitler could not be trusted
- Anthony Eden: Foreign Secretary who resigned Feb 1938 over Chamberlain's approach
- Kurt Schuschnigg: Austrian Chancellor summoned to Berchtesgaden (Feb 1938); announced plebiscite; forced to resign before Anschluss
Must-Know Facts
- Rhineland (1936): only 22,000 German troops vs ~250,000 available French — Hitler had secret orders to retreat if France advanced
- Anschluss (1938): Hitler forced Schuschnigg to resign at Berchtesgaden (Feb); German troops entered 12 March; rigged plebiscite claimed 99.7% support
- Czechoslovakia was NOT consulted at the Munich Agreement (September 1938)
- Chamberlain flew to Germany THREE times during the Sudetenland crisis
- British rearmament started 1936 — RAF had fewer than 1,500 aircraft in 1938
- FUBFC mnemonic: Fear of war, Unprepared militarily, Believed Versailles unjust, Feared Communism, Couldn't rely on allies
- Churchill called Munich "a total and unmitigated defeat" — Chamberlain claimed "peace for our time"
Cross-Topic Links
- → Topic 22 (Treaty of Versailles): A key reason appeasers were willing to allow Versailles revision was the widespread belief (shared by Lloyd George since 1919) that the treaty had been too harsh and that Germany had legitimate grievances worth addressing.
- → Topic 27 (Abyssinia): The Hoare-Laval Pact (1935) is appeasement applied through the League — Britain and France sabotaged their own sanctions to keep Italy as an ally against Hitler, showing appeasement logic pre-dating Chamberlain.
- → Topic 31 (Munich Agreement): Munich is appeasement's most significant and most criticised moment — the decision to give Hitler the Sudetenland without consulting Czechoslovakia turned a policy into an infamous historical judgement.
- → Topic 29 (Steps to War): Each step Hitler took was only possible because appeasement prevented a military response — the Rhineland (1936) and Anschluss (1938) both succeeded because Britain and France chose negotiation over confrontation.
- → Topic 32 (Outbreak of War): The abandonment of appeasement in March 1939 — after Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia — made war almost inevitable by committing Britain to defend Poland, a country it could not realistically protect.