Option W = International Relations 1919-63.
Question 5 (2003) - Hitler's
foreign policy and the policy of Appeasement.
Study Sources C and D and then answer all the questions which
follow.
Source C: The policy of Appeasement.
| Chamberlain believed that Germany had genuine grievances
under the Treaty of Versailles and that if these could be solved
by negotiation, Hitler would live in peace with the rest of the
world. There was a lot of support for appeasement in Britain:
people wanted to avoid another war like the First World War with
its massive los of life and damage. Britain had not re-armed sufficiently
and was in no position to resist Hitler. Some British politicians,
fearing the communist Soviet Union, saw a strong Germany as a
barrier to communist expansion in Europe. Germany had withdrawn
from the League of Nations in 1933, so Chamberlain decided to
use a personal approach instead. |
From a text book published in Britain in 2001.
Source D: Hitler and Czechoslovakia.
| I give you my word of honour that Czechoslovakia has
nothing to fear from Germany. |
Hitler speaking to Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister,
after the Anschluss with Austria in March 1938.
(a) What does Source C tell us about the reasons for Britain
following the policy of appeasement in the 1930s?
(3 marks)
(b) Describe how Chamberlain helped to prevent war over the Sudetenland
area of Czechoslovakia in September 1938.
(6 marks)
(c) How reliable is Source D to an historian studying Hitler's policy
towards Czechoslovakia in the years 1938 and 1939?
Use Source D and your own knowledge to explain you answer.
(6 marks)
(d) Which was the more important factor in allowing Hitler to succeed
in his foreign policy in the 1930s
* The Treaty of Versailles
* Chamberlain's policy of Appeasement?
You must refer to both reasons when explaining your answer.
(10 marks)
