British Appeasement of Germany Quiz

Answer: Yielding to the demands and threats of a dictator

The term "appeasement", which has been revived in connection with foreign policy in the 21st century, is pejorative, suggesting abject submission in the face of threats and bullying by a dictator.

Answer: John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes, "The Economic Consequences of the Peace", London, 1919. Keynes warned that the peace treaties were unworkable and would lead to severe inflation in the defeated countries. As the title suggests, the book was primarily concerned with the economic aspects of the treaties, but some see it as the first serious plea in Britain for a revision of the settlement.
The book derived added authority from the fact that Keynes had been head of the British Treasury team in Paris and had resigned from the Civil Service in order to criticize the treaties.

Answer: Territorial expansion of Germany

The Dawes Plan (1924) and the Young Plan (1929) were primarily concerned with putting German reparations on a manageable basis. During Gustav Stresemann's period of office as German Foreign Minister (1924-29) Germany voluntarily recognized her new western frontiers, and those with Czechoslovakia, in the Locarno Treaties (1925) and was admitted to the League of Nations, thus ending the country's international "pariah" status. (In 1922 Germany had made a treaty at Rapallo with that other pariah, the Soviet Union - then technically still in the making). Secret clauses of this treaty allowed Germany to maintain troops in the Soviet Union.

This treaty was terminated by Stalin in 1933).

Answer: Coalition (with a Conservative majority)

The government, which called itself a "National" coalition, had been formed in 1931, when the full force of the Great Depression hit Britain. It was headed by the former Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald (since 1931 National Labour). It had a massive majority, largely Conservative, with some Liberals and only 13 National Labour MPs.

This coalition remained in place after the 1935 election with a reduced majority and with Stanley Baldwin as Prime Minister from 1935-37, then Neville Chamberlain from 1937).

It remained in power till May 1940.

Answer: Multilateral disarmament

Together with other countries, Britain was pursuing a policy of disarmament by means of negotiations held under the auspices of the League of Nations. That said, some historians argue, probably correctly, that Britain was more interested at the time in sheltering within its Empire than in playing an active role in Europe.

Answer: Duff Cooper

In 1933 (Alfred) Duff Cooper was Financial Secretary at the War Office. He had the advantage of an excellent knowledge of German and spent part of the summer of 1933 in Germany. On his return, he gave a speech in his constituency, saying that Germany was rearming and preparing for war.

He also talked more generally about conditions in Germany. He was one of the very first politicians to sense that Germany was becoming a "rogue state", though he did not use that term. His call for speedy British rearmament was out of step with the government's policy of disarmament.

Much of the press immediately labelled him a "warmonger". All the politicians listed in the options opposed appeasement, but their opposition began at different times.

Answer: 1934-35

There was a significant increase in expenditure on the RAF in 1934-35. Important work was also done on the development of a co-ordinated network of radar stations (with backup communications) to provide early warning of approaching enemy aircraft. The navy and army had to wait for another year or so. (German rearmament was already well under way by 1934).

Answer: 1935

Naval rearmament was on a massive scale. In addition to the construction of new battleships, Britain also constructed purpose-built aircraft carriers.

Answer: Collective security

The Labour Party, though opposed to Nazism, was greatly hampered by widespread pacifism among its MPs and ordinary members, but in 1937 it officially abandoned its policy of pacifism.

"Collective security" meant different things to different people within the Labour Party. For most, it meant opposing Nazi Germany through the League of Nations, but a few - such as Stafford Cripps - took the view that the situation was so grave that it called for "Popular Front" style politics including pan-European co-operation with the Communists and anti-Nazi conservatives. The Labour leadership took a very dim view of this, and in January 1939 Stafford Cripps, Aneurin Bevan, Charles Trevelyan and others were expelled from the Labour Party.

Answer: The Munich Agreement (1938)

In April 1938 Germany annexed a willing Austria. In September 1938 Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland - that is the German-speaking areas of Czechoslovakia (as it was then) bordering Germany and Austria - be ceded to Germany and threatened war if they were not handed over by 1 October 1938.

Answer: Redressing legitimate German grievances

Of course, trying to avoid the vast expense of a war was also a signicant factor. Although some MPs talked about the importance of keeping Bolshevism at bay, there is no hard evidence for the view that the British government was deliberately strengthening Germany as a "bulwark against the Soviet Union".

Answer: True

George Lansbury was a committed pacifist and had been Leader of the Labour Party, 1931-35. A more astonishing misjudgement is hard to imagine. The source for this quotation is: Martin Gilbert, "Britain and Germany Between the Wars", Longmans, London 1964, p. 102.

Answer: That the government had allowed one European power to achieve a position of overwhelming strength

At the end of his speech, Duff Cooper also said that he would be able to hold his head up, thus implying that the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary had behaved dishonourably. Like many other Conservative opponents of appeasement, such as Winston Churchill and Leo Amery, he was a traditional British imperialist, not a calculating technocrat.

In the circumstances, that was an great advantage, as this outlook involved a sense of mission.

Answer: All of these

Lloyd George, for example, asked whether the Imperial General Staff had been consulted. There were those who said that Britain should have formed an alliance with the Soviet Union, but it's hard to see how that was practical politics. Nevertheless, Britain did open low-level negotiations with the Soviet Union. After the Italian invasion of Albania on 8 April 1939, Britain also offered guarantees to Greece and Romania, but without any prior consultation with the Soviet Union. Churchill commented on 4 May 1939: "There is no means of maintaining an Eastern Front without the active aid of Russia ... It should still be possible to range all the states and people from the Baltic to the Black Sea in one solid front against a new outrage or invasion."

Of course, Hitler's immediate ambitions in 1938-39 were in Central and Eastern Europe - a region where British influence was particularly weak.

Answer: No

It sounds almost unbelievable, but he said nothing at all about victory! Instead, he talked about 'evil men and evil times'. A new tone, with a clear determination to win had to wait till Britain got a new prime minister - in May 1940.