Chamberlain's Choice: Tragic Consequences of Appeasing Dictatorship

Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasing dictatorship in the 1930s was an attempt to avoid conflict with Germany. At the time, the British army was not prepared for war and needed time to build up strength, and France was only capable of total war or no war at all. The USSR was an ally of Germany with strong trade and military ties, and the US had a policy of staying out of Europe's wars. Intervention by Britain would have meant going to war with limited resources and no major international support. The troops from the colonies would have taken too long to arrive, and the British public was still recovering from the losses of World War I. In the end, Chamberlain's policy of appeasement failed to prevent the outbreak of World War II, and is widely seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of ignoring aggression and failing to stand up for one's principles.