Monthly Meeting Notes March 10

We had a small group meeting this month due to illness, holidays and tradesmen appointments. However there was much to discuss and we spent some time talking about Michael's history class assignments on various topics of the origins of the Second World War. Included in this months Blog we have  an article by Iris Brindley on Chamberlain's role in Appeasement. Michael's comments were:
 'A very pleasing essay which  effectively examined the issues in a well organised and highly readable manner.'
Well done Iris and everyone who contributed can give themselves a pat on the back, I think we can all agree that Michael's class was very challenging but stimulating and edifying in the continuous controversial origins of the Second World War. An interesting account of how Tyneside fared during the war can be found in Craig Armstrong's book Tyneside in the Second World War.

Here is a review from Google Books:

The Second World War remains one of the great communal memories of British Society, yet the majority of writing on the Home Front has been descriptions focusing on the south of England. Accounts of the war in the provinces remain few and Tyneside, as an industrial powerhouse, was responsible for producing vast amounts of material and equipment and was an area of vital significance to the national war effort. Although the cosy image that has formed around the stoic acceptance of the British people to wartime strictures has been questioned in some recent works, this book seeks to analyse how the government, local authorities, voluntary organisations, police and others attempted both to improve and assess morale on Tyneside. Looking at a variety of issues to give an academic overview of how Total War affected provincial communities, this work seeks to analyse the overall effect of the Second World War on Tyneside.

You can get it from Amazon, Waterstones, W H Smith, Blackwell for £17.99 but I got my copy much cheaper at The Works and you may be able to get it on offer at the City Library.

 The next meeting will be held at the Hancock Museum 10:30 upstairs cafe on Wednesday April 6, please bring along any material you wish to discuss.

Things to do

Get on the Metro and take a a hike around Cullercoats and follow the Art Trail, you can download the informative leaflet from here:

Art Trail

I can reccomend the Cafe on the corner opposite the Dove Marine Centre its called Beaches and Cream and has just been redecorated, a nice resting place.

Or  you can go to North Tyneside Council Web site to find out more heritage walks:

I can recommend this poetry workshop by Anna Woodcroft, I went to a venue at the City Library a few years ago when Ann Woodcroft and Linda France gave us an introduction to contemporary poetry, do not worry you do not have to write anything but taking notes is useful as its very informative, you get to read some short poetry from a variety of sources, many modern day snippets some from people who have just started to express themselves who come from all walks of life. Make sure to get Anna's book  Birdhouse she will no doubt have a few to sell very reasonably priced and I am sure she will sign it just like the one I have.

A little bit brief this month but you can help just get researching and see you at the next meeting.

Derek

IRIS BRINDLEY

CHAMBERLAlN'S ROLE IN APPEASEMENT

 

Introduction:

Appeasement is a diplomatic policy, attempting to make political or material concessions to the enemy power, in an effort to avoid further conflict. My aim is to explain Neville Chamberlain as a man and his role in the failed effort of appeasement in 1937, its failure and why it failed.

Neville Chamberlain originally gained a hands-on reputation as a manager of a 20,000-acre estate in the Bahamas, he had a strong interest in the running affairs of business and became a leading manufacturer in Birmingham on his return to the UK. He was elected in that City as a Councillor, going on to be Lord Mayor in 1915. He rose to Director General of the Department of National Service too, though resigned in a year due to bitterness between David Lloyd George and himself. Perhaps a sign that he was not an easy man to get along with.

Neville Chamberlain preceded Stanley Baldwin to become Prime Minister from 28 May 1937 until 10 May 1940. Hitler and all of Germany, even right thinking British people, thought the Versailles Treaty, written after the 1 World war was punitive and unfair, seemingly bent on totally crushing and punishing Germany for their part in that war. Chamberlain being a peace making man believed totally in appeasement and wanted at all costs to avoid another war. Indeed, he publicly spoke of his horror at the thought of the death and destruction of war, in fact one famous broadcast by him on 27 September 1937 he famously said ‘the prospect of war looming in front of him was indeed "Horrible, fantastic, incredible" that Londoners would be ‘digging ditches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing’

Hitler made war inevitable by flouting the Versailles Treaty constantly, breaking peace-making promises which he had never ever had any intention of keeping and deliberately marching ever onward, taking over land he considered rightly belonged to Germany. Chamberlain wanted to avoid war at all cost and was seen by many due to his appeasement stance, as ineffective and by the time he tried to take the initiative, it was too late. 

Hitler had risen to great power in Germany and had the perhaps rightly aggrieved population behind him. Despite settlement being reached at the Munich Agreement between Germany, Britain, France and Italy, which permitted German annexation of Sudetenland, Hitler then planned to take Czechoslovakia and the Czechs looked to France for military assistance as they had an alliance with them, the Soviets also had a treaty with the Czechs and were willing to step in with France and Britain if they came to Czechoslovakia's defence the Soviets were ignored and neither Britain nor France were prepared to defend Czechoslovakia. 

Both wanted to avoid military confrontation with Germany at almost ANY cost. Chamberlain offered to go back to speak personally to the Fuhrer and Hitler again made an agreement of no military action without further discussion. A further meeting was held in London with the French head of state and a proposal stipulating all areas with more than 50% Sudeten Germans be returned to Germany. The Czechs were not consulted but were reluctantly forced to accept on 21 September. Chamberlain STILL believing in appeasement was horrified to find Hitler again wanted more than previously agreed and a new proposal was put to the Czechs who understandably rejected it, as did the French and the British cabinet. 

Chamberlain proposed a four power conference immediately to settle the dispute, Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier and Mussolini met in Munich. Mussolini produced a written plan accepted by all which was called the Munich Agreement. Czechoslovakia was informed to either resist Germany alone or submit. They submitted. Before leaving Munich, Chamberlain and Hitler signed a paper resolving to peacefully settle their differences through consultation. When back on British soil Chamberlain told the public he had achieved "Peace with Honour. I believe it is peace for our time”. His words were immediately challenged by Churchill who said "You were given the choice between War or Dishonour. You chose Dishonour and you WILL have War! This proved true the

following year. The Munich Agreement became a byword for the futility of appeasing totalitarian states.

 Conclusion:

Though Chamberlains efforts of appeasement had failed, being an unmovable man of fixed ideas and beliefs, he insisted on having his ‘own way’, refusing to countenance advice from others even dismissing them, or forcing their resignation. This made him a formidable politician, but one with a closed mind and perhaps naive. I believe he was often self-deluded but perhaps he was privy to the knowledge that Britain had neither the monetary resources nor military capability to go to, war at that time? Following the Munich Agreement he believed he had won” Peace for our time" because of diplomatic persuasion and could not see that all it did was feed Hitler's megalomania and enormous appetite for territories new. All that Chamberlain's Appeasement did was strengthen Hitler’s political position. The appeasement failed because he had no understanding of the psychology of a Dictator, Hitler came to expect an utter lack of resistance to his acquisitions from both Britain AND France who had through their inaction effectively ‘encouraged’ further aggression. l believe Chamberlain died in 9 November 1940 six months after retiring perhaps a broken man.

Works cited

Book (on internet) Origins of the second world war A.J.P TAYLOR

Encyclopaedia Britannica (on internet)

BBC — GCSE Bitesize History” Why appeasement"? (internet)

Class Handout "Appeasement" (Perspectives) Richard Cockett