Neville Chamberlain Appeasing Hitler
World War II can be seen as a series of mistakes made by leaders on both sides. Hitler made bad choices during the war and so did the allies. But at the very start of the war there were major failings on the part of the Neville Chamberlain. Neville Chamberlain was put in the unique position of determining whether or not the League of Nations and collective security would work, but faced with a country that was tired of war, he was reluctant to stand up to Hitler’s aggression.
When Hitler re-militarized the Rhineland it was the first chance to show force to stop Hitler. France asked the League of Nations for help but no one was willing to risk another war. The Soviet Union was the only state that was even willing to do sanctions against Hitler. This showed Hitler that the League of Nations and international community would not stand against him and it put Germany in a position of power. The failure to address the Rhineland was only the beginning of what became known as appeasement, in which Neville Chamberlain and other European power reluctantly gave Hitler anything he wanted in the hopes of preventing another war.
Neville Chamberlain also did not act when Germany annexed Austria. Nor did he intervene or call the League of Nations to action when Hitler took over the Sudetenland. This deprived Czechoslovakia of most of its industry and 800,000 of its people. Britain, France and Italy met with Germany to come to the Munich agreement. Czechoslovakia was not invited to the negotiations and felt betrayed when it was decided that Hitler could remain in the territories that he had occupied. Neville Chamberlain led the policy of appeasement up until Hitler invaded Poland, all in an attempt to prevent a war that would cost the lives of so many. However, it did little to prepare the continent for war or stop Hitler’s plans.