Abstract
In a study of periods and struggles in history, certain phrases or words become synonymous with specific events or policies. This fact is aptly illustrated by the term, "Appeasement," which came to connote a course of action adopted toward European dictators, especially in the 1930's. More specifically, it was applied to the policy adopted primarily by Great Britain and France in 1938 to placate Adolf Hitler's incessant desire to absorb the Sudetenland. |Two decades have elapsed since this policy was actively followed, and in that time we have sadly witnessed the world wide havoc reaped by such an attitude. Hindsight has demonstrated that appeasement was one of the factors that led to World War II. Though we view this policy today as a disastrous one, students of history wonder why it was advocated and defended in 1938. Why was Hitler appeased? Why did Britain and France so readily adopt such a policy? Was "Appeasement" the only course? What events led to this policy? Would war have stopped German expansion to the East? |It is with these thoughts in mind that the study of the events which led to the Munich Pact of September 1938 is undertaken. It is not intended to attempt an exhaustive treatment of European diplomacy which decided on appeasement; nor is it the aim of the writer to analyze all the factors and influences which resulted in the betrayal of Czechoslovakia by France and Great Britain. Rather, this investigation is approached in the hope of acquiring knowledge which will be beneficial in shaping the channels of thought that are to be applied to the solution of present and future problems.