Appeasement In The 1930s Essay

To what extent was disquiet over the Treaty of Versailles the reason for Britains appeasement in the 1930s?

Britain’s appeasement in the 1930s was partly down to the unrest due to the Treaty of Versailles. It was one of many factors that lead Chamberlain to appeasement in 1938. The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918. The treaty was signed in the Versailles Palace near Paris – hence its title – between Germany and the Allies. The treaty stripped `Germany of its colonies and overseas territories, imposed massive reparations, removed Germany’s military capacity and forced her to accept full responsibility for World War I. The resentment that this caused within Germany was blamed on the Welmar Govermnment, who were the ones forced to signed the treaty. This Welmar Government were a democracy put in place in 1918 in an attempt to shift the blame for losing the war on the Generals. It was also an attempt to negotiate peace terms, which

Hitler wanted to re-take control of the territories that it had lost at Versailles, such as the Rhineland and re-arm its military forces - something forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. He also wanted to expand Germany’s borders to provide living space. Many British and French politicians believed this was too harsh and believed Hitler’s demands were reasonable so this helped lead to appeasement. Before the outbreak of war, many people in Britain admired Hitler. After the ruinous end of WWI, Hitler appeared to have rebuilt Germany and made it a powerful country again. Many people thought Hitler's demands to regain control of territories that used to belong to Germany were justified as many of these territories had German-speaking populations. This meant that they thought appeasement was a great idea as it was giving Hitler what they thought he deserved whilst avoiding