What Was Hitler's Response To Appeasement

World War II, like other wars, was a war that was fought as a result of a nation’s belief that they must gain power. This war was the result of Germany's increase in power that was brought about by the rise of one person, Adolf Hitler. World War II was fought between the Allied Powers, which were Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and the United States, and the Axis Powers, who were Germany, Italy, and Japan. There were several reasons as to why the war started and how people responded to what was happening. Several people favored a policy of appeasement when they should’ve favored a policy of collective security.

The main reason for the war was because Adolf Hitler had risen to power in Germany and was determined to increase Germany’s

power and make the changes that he believed were necessary. In the book, Mein Kampf, by Adolf Hitler, he encourages Germany to build themselves up and gain powers so that they will be able to protect themselves. Hitler, saying this, created a buildup of tension between several nations because Germany was taking Hitler’s advise (Doc. 1). Hitler began to make decisions that he believed were necessary for Germany. Among these decisions was violating the Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace treaty that ended World War I. Hitler violated the treaty by sending troops into Rhineland, a piece of land that is between France and Germany. It is also a piece of land that German troops are not allowed to enter. In response, France informed the Council of the League of Nations about what Germany did and the council told them to force them to leave through diplomatic pressure and if that didn’t work then they would have to use a different, stronger pressure to do whatever is necessary to get Germany to leave. The treaty violation and whatever pressure is necessary to get Germany to leave would lead to war (Doc. 3). The War was also a result of a policy of appeasement. Keith Eubank explains that many people were afraid that they might have to go to war if they tried to stop Hitler and because no one tried to stop it the only thing to do was to go to war (Doc. 9).
As Hitler rose to power several countries feared that if they intervened the result would be war.

Everyone was trying to avoid going to war by favoring a policy of appeasement, which means that they decided to ignore what Hitler was doing in Germany. However, they didn’t realize until later that appeasement was not the best idea, that it was actually a long-term cause for the war. An example of this was when Hitler wanted to acquire some land in Czechoslovakia, so Britain, France, and Italy met with Hitler, in Munich, to come up with an agreement. The agreement that they produced promised peace to Europe and that there wouldn’t be a European war as long as Hitler was given the land (Doc. 4). Another example of why people believed appeasement was the best thing to do was in a speech by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, to parliament. Chamberlain explained that the agreement made in Munich was a good thing because it promises peace and many people believed that Germany had not done anything worth going to war over. They believed that they should fight if it was a major issue (Doc. 5). A. J. P. Taylor, a British historian, also agrees that appeasement was a good thing. He explains why people believed the ignoring what was Happening in Germany was the logical thing to do. He says that the people were afraid the by defeating Germany, a Russian domination of Europe could result. He also points out that Hitler had a large following at this time and trying to stop him

would not be easy (Doc. 8). Appeasement was a good policy for a while, but because they ignored what was happening for so long instead to taking care of it when they had the chance before Hitler increased his power and following, a war was the only thing that was left. Churchill explains that appeasement was a terrible idea and that a policy of collective security would have prevented many of the events that had followed due to appeasement. Churchill explains that if everyone had united together and would not have made the agreement in Munich then they could have avoided the spread of the Nazi power and would have been able to maintain a strong national defense and a system of international security (Doc. 6). George F. Kennan explains that the agreement that was made in Munich was unnecessary because Britain, France, and Italy were actually stronger than Germany was at that time and could have stopped Hitler (Doc. 7). Haile Selassie, who was the emperor of Ethiopia, knew that Hitler would not stop, but would continue to attack others. Selassie asked the League of Nations for help in stopping them, but the League of Nations didn’t think it was a good idea (Doc. 2).
In conclusion, a war was the only solution to stop the spread of Hitler’s and Germany’s power because Hitler encouraged Germany to do their own thing and defy treaties, agreements and many other things. Hitler may have been a major reason for World War II, but he wasn’t the only reason. The fear of going to war allow several countries to follow a policy of appeasement and because of this fear and ignoring what was happening, led to war being the only thing that could end it. Everyone should have followed a policy of collective security so that they could have stopped Germany before it was too late and they had to turn to war.