World War 1

After World War 1, Europe was hit with an economic crisis. Germany suffered inflation due to being forced to pay war costs. After this, Germany became weaker. In this devastating time, arose a dictator, Adolf Hitler. British and French leaders decided that the best way to prevent war was to appease Hitler. Appeasement did not help in stopping hitler, and also made Hitler feel unstoppable. In addition, having collective security is far more important that appeasing one leader.

After the economic downfall after World War 1, many issues arose in Europe, mainly the disregarding of treaties and the weakness of the League of Nations. Document 2 states how the emperor of Ethiopia requested backup from the League of Nations however, the request was not up to par. This shows how, the League of Nations was a poorly put form of security. Furthermore, disregarding of treaties. Hitler was said to tear up the Treaty of Versailles. He continued to strengthen his armed forces and in the end, invaded Rhineland. Showing no mercy to people who stood in his way(Doc 3). This invasion was back up by his ideas, written out in the Mein Kampf, stating how Germany must become a dominant power(Doc1).

Appeasement only achieves temporary understanding. If a world leader decides to appease another world leader, in this case Britain and France appeasing Germany. This only worked for a few weeks. In 1938, Britain and France decided to give Germany, Sudetenland, however this did not stop Hitler. As we see now, Germany continues in its aggression(doc 4). This was not the only case of appeasement. Document 5 states how the British Prime Minister, believed that by appeasing Hitler, this would prevent war in Europe saving future generations. This would be a good tactic if Britain was able to overpower Germany, however they failed, which led to a major war in Europe. As seen in document 6, Churchill felt that, appeasement does not help in collective security. Churchill

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