Question

When did Britain and France adopt a policy of appeasement toward Germany?

a) before the war began
b) when they declared war
c) when the United States declared war
d) after France was invaded and divided

Answer 1

Britain and France adopted a policy of appeasement toward Germany before WWII, most notable in the Munich Agreement of 1938. This policy was an attempt to prevent another war, but it ultimately emboldened Hitler and contributed to the onset of WWII.

Step-by-step explanation:

Britain and France adopted a policy of appeasement toward Germany before the war began. This period of appeasement is most notably characterized by the Munich Agreement of 1938, where Britain and France conceded the Sudetenland to Germany. The leaders of these countries, most famously British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, believed that by allowing Germany's annexations, they could avoid another devastating conflict akin to World War I. Unfortunately, the appeasement policy ultimately emboldened Hitler, who continued to expand German territory aggressively, culminating in the invasion of Poland and the start of World War II.

Appeasement was believed to be preferable to war by the traumatized populations and unstable governments of Britain and France in the aftermath of World War I. However, by not taking a firmer stance against Germany's expansionist actions, the Western democracies inadvertently contributed to the onset of World War II. When Hitler went on to seize the rest of Czechoslovakia, it became clear that appeasement as a policy was a failure, leading to the need for greater military resistance against fascist expansion.