Appeasement – A Reasonable Policy or a Bad Idea?
Appeasement – the policy of giving in to the demands of an aggressor to avoid conflict
Directions: I. Read the statement headings and arguments in the boxes below. Some statements support the position that
appeasement was a reasonable response to German and Italian aggression while others support the position that the consequences of
appeasement were too costly and predictable, and thus it was a bad idea. Then, complete part II by filling in the chart below.
Britain Needed Time to Prepare for War
By giving Hitler what he wanted, Britain
had more time to build up its armed forces.
Germany Was Growing Stronger
Appeasement allowed Germany to grow
stronger, which meant it would be far more
difficult to defeat.
Aggressors Must Be Stopped At All Costs
Certain forms of government are not
reasonable. Only through use of force can
their ambitions be stopped.
Hitler Wanted to Conquer Eastern
Europe
Hitler made his plans clear. He
pledged to create an empire, the Third
Reich. The policy of appeasement
was doomed from the start, because
Hitler lied when he promised to stop.
Fear of Another War
People wanted to avoid another terrible war
and believed in doing everything possible to
prevent it.
Aggressors Can Not Be Trusted
Hitler’s actions after the Munich Conference
proved Hitler couldn’t be trusted.
Germany Deserved a Fair Deal
Germany was treated too harshly at
Versailles, so it was only being given back
their rightful land.
Most Europeans Did Not Support War
In 1938, public opinion in many countries was
against war, so the policy of appeasement was
sensible.
Appeasement Forced the USSR
to Ally with Germany
When Britain and France did not stand up to Hitler or
Mussolini, the USSR became worried about German
power and began thinking about deals with Hitler.
Fear of Communism
People preferred to support a strong leader in
Germany and Italy rather than risk communist
takeovers in those countries. Totalitarian
governments in Italy and Germany could be used to
block the spread of communism.
II. Fill in the chart using the statement headings from above:
Appeasement Was a Reasonable Policy
War is Never the Answer
Any action that can be taken to prevent
military conflict is the right action to be
taken.
Appeasement Encouraged
Hitler and Mussolini
Giving in to Hitler and Mussolini
only made them feel that they could
do whatever they wanted. They
had no fear of being stopped and so
continued their aggressive actions.
Appeasement Was a Bad Idea
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III. Use the arguments above, your Events Leading to WWII Timeline, and your critical thinking skills to write a rough draft paragraph
explaining your opinion of appeasement. Was it a policy that made sense in the 1930s or was it a terrible, predictable mistake?