Before the start of World War II, the Western powers such as Britain and France at that time had been actively pursuing a policy of appeasement in order to protect their own interests, and finally pushed Germany and Japan to the peak of the war. What exactly is appeasement? Why did Britain and France implement appeasement at that time? What kind of game is behind this? Let's go back to Britain before World War II and explore the answer behind this question.
In the First World War, Britain was actually hit a lot. After the end of the war, their overseas colonies were rife with separatist movements, and the country was filled with great anti-war sentiment. Even Oxford University, in 1934, made a famous Oxford resolution refusing to take part in the fighting under any circumstances. Western Europe was still in turmoil, and some countries in North America and Australia were not interested in whether there would be another battle, and they were more worried about the threat of Japan, so in the end they chose the United States. The UK is now incapable of solving its internal worries and can only focus on foreign countries. But at that time, a number of emerging countries were coveting this former global hegemon, and their overseas colonies suddenly became the biggest threat. The only one who was willing to be with Britain at that time was France, because they were in greater need of help. After the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the French realized that they could not fight Germany alone, and the only way was to ally with other countries to achieve the purpose of restraint. At that time, the French governor believed that if the German army started the war again, it would be nothing more than to repeat the original tactics, so the famous Maginot Line was built. In this way, when the German army launched a war, Britain could not watch the fire from the other side, and could only be forced to fight against Germany.
Under the internal and external troubles, the British cabinet headed by Chamberlain seems to have sensed the arrival of a war. When Germany and Austria were about to merge, the British Chief of Staff submitted a report. They claimed that Germany's next target was Czechoslovakia, and that now they were powerless to stop it, and that if they were to intervene, a new world war would ensue, and it would be extremely unfavorable to the present situation. The outbreak of the September 18 Incident was a series of conventions openly trampled on the United States by the Japanese army, and it is reasonable to say that they should intervene first. But the United States' insistence on letting Britain bear all this has shown unprecedented toughness. At the meeting, the British representative also did everything in his power and resolutely did not want to fall into this quagmire. At the same time, the Soviet Union also made enough small moves. On the one hand, they supported the War of Resistance, on the other hand, they were negotiating with the Japanese army, and finally they had secret contacts with Germany. If Britain provoked war and killed Germany at this time, it might give the Soviet Union an opportunity. So Chamberlain has always supported a strategy that if he can't prevent a new world war, he can't be one of the first to get involved in it. Hitler also seized on this weakness, playing himself as a poor victim, having gained more powerful conditions, and then actively preparing for the next battle.
Caught between this cunning fellow and a war-weary populace, Chamberlain could only make the decision that seemed best at the time, which was to go with the flow of public opinion and turn a blind eye to Hitler's actions. After the outbreak of the July 7 Incident, Japan began a full-scale invasion, and Chamberlain did not choose to open his eyes this time, but called on the United States to intervene in the war together. But the intelligent Americans had spotted the small movements behind their backs, and chamberlain was constantly appeasing Germany while making appeals. Obviously, on the one hand, they hope that they will go east to contain the Soviet Union, and on the other hand, they hope that Japan will go south to contain itself, so that Britain can really watch the fire from the other side and enjoy the dividends brought by the war. Chamberlain's plan, of course, was not fully realized, and the United States also came up with the same set that Britain had, and it had been shouting condemnation slogans there. It was this repeated indulgence that led to the complete outbreak of the world war that followed.
Although Chamberlain has been practicing appeasement, he has also achieved some of his goals. When the war situation was chaotic, Chamberlain was also secretly preparing for the war, laying his own air defense system, and also making the biggest breakthrough in the intelligence work against Germany. Another point is that Chamberlain did not use appeasement with Italy. Although it was opposed by many people at the time, it now seems that this is an incomparably correct decision, and all he has done is a key card for Churchill.
The game between the great powers is cruel and complex, and what they do together is based on their own interests. Therefore, Chamberlain's appeasement is inevitable, although it cannot be said to be the best policy, but it is definitely not a downward policy.