The Support of the Appeasement of Hitler by the British Mass Media

The Support of the Appeasement of Hitler by the British Mass Media

Appeasement was the conciliatory policy adopted by Britain and France

towards the aggressive foreign policy of Nazi Germany in the years

preceding the Second World War. In Britain it is normally associated

with the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain but was also followed by

Stanley Baldwin. It has been argued by historians such as Richard

Cockett that the press in Britain was manipulated by Whitehall -

especially during Chamberlain’s years as Prime Minister – to publish

only pro-appeasement articles and news and therefore “no alternative

to the policy of appeasement was ever consistently articulated in the

press.”[1] It is indeed partly true that Chamberlain was a master of

press manipulation and the BBC broadcasts were closely monitored by

the Foreign Office. However it would be incorrect to assume that all

of the press was pro-appeasement and there were dissenting voices. One

must also examine in part the role that Hitler played in attempting to

control the news that foreign correspondents in Germany sent back to

their publications.

In order to examine why some publications such as The Times followed a

policy of appeasement one needs to look why at why politicians, like

Chamberlain, were convinced that it was necessary. The actual policy

of appeasement was a reversion to the traditional foreign policy of 19th

century Britain where she had felt it necessary to avoid getting

entangled in the affairs of Europe. Many felt that Britain was simply

not ready for another war, economically she was struggling through

depression in the early 1930s and at that stage simply could not

afford to rearm. It was also during this period that the Empire was at

its most troublesome with uprisings occurring in the Middle East and

India, as well as having to deal with Italian and German expansion,

Britain faced threats to her Asian interests from Japanese

expansionism. Negotiating with Germany, the greatest and closest of

these threats, appeared to be a prudent policy. There was also an

unrealistically high fear among politicians about the destructive