Did appeasement make sense in 1938?

Militarism and War

Czechoslovaks had a treaty with France and were relying on their military assistance

Great Britain and France wanted to avoid war

Czech government was eventually forced to surrender

Germany set up puppet, pro-Nazi regimes that served military and political ends of Hitler

Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3 1939

Neville Chamberlain

The British Prime Minister at the time

Wanted to avoid war with Hitler

believed he achieved peace after meeting with Hitler

averted war by agreeing that Germany could occupy the Sudetenland, the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia

Hitler

expansionist

encouraged the leader of the Sudeten Nazis to rebel, demanding union with Germany

threatened war after Czech government declared martial law

undeterred by appeasement

violated the Munich Agreement by occupying the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939

Appeasement

the policy of making concessions to the dictatorial powers in order to avoid conflict

Munich Agreement

Neville Chamberlain sign the Munich Pact, which seals the fate of Czechoslovakia, virtually handing it over to Germany

sacrificed the autonomy of Czechoslovakia on the altar of short-term peace

Settled on September 30 1938 by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy

allowed Hitler to expand German territory