Chamberlain's Lack Of Appeasement Was A Mistake

History Homework -
“Appeasement was a mistake.” Do you agree? Explain your answer.
It could be argued that appeasement was a mistake because Hitler would have been defeated if Chamberlain had intervened at an earlier stage; for example, if Chamberlain had shown greater threat and opposition in response to Hitler’s occupation of the Rhineland, Hitler would most likely not have proceeded in his plans to annex Austria and Czechoslovakia. Indeed, if Chamberlain had not allowed Hitler to reclaim the Rhineland, not only would Hitler have felt discouraged to further disobey the Treaty of Versailles, he would not have regained the useful coal, steel and iron resources of the area. This meant that Hitler was harder to stop as he expanded more and more, and

After the tragedy that was the First World War, Britain was too scarred by the wounds left from the fighting that another war over the occupation of Austria and Czechoslovakia was out of the question. As Phillip Larkin’s memorable poem, ‘MCMXIV’, professes: “Never such innocence, / Never before or since, / As changed itself to past / Without a word”. The First World War had such an impact on Britain that they refused to look at war the same way. Chamberlain was one of the majority of Britain’s public figures who did not wish to declare war upon any country without trying any other means necessary beforehand. Moreover, Britain’s physical detachment from the conflict (being isolated as an island) may have contributed to its inability to truly sympathise with the issue and value it as important enough to risk war over. This meant that the majority of people in Britain at the time agreed with Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement as it offered an alternative to the possibility of war, something that many were opposed to after the horrors of the previous