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Did the Appeasement Policy Make the Second World War Inevitable? Essay Example

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Did the Appeasement Policy Make the Second World War Inevitable? Essay Example
The appeasement policy was adopted by Britain and France, meaning to pacify the aggressors, like Germany and Italy, by satisfying their wants. They believed that by satisfying the aggressors’ limited wants, they could eliminate the possibility of wars. It was their mild attitude that caused the aggressive countries to start expanding their territories. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France finally dropped the policy as they thought they could not neglect the German invasion. Hence, the Second World War started. In fact, the appeasement policy only led the aggressors to expand their spheres of influence. It did not directly lead to war. If the policy continued, the war might not start. Therefore, the appeasement policy did not make the Second World War inevitable. It purely made the war more likely to happen.

The appeasement policy made the Second World War more likely to happen as it encouraged German and Italian aggression. In 1923, Italy occupied the Greek island of Corfu. Britain and France did not intervene in the issue. Later, as Italy succeeded in occupying Corfu, Italian aggression grew stronger. In 1935, Italy invaded Abyssinia. The League of Nations condemned her action and imposed economic sanctions on Italy. However, the sanctions did not stop the US and Germany from trading with Italy. Furthermore, Britain and France did not support the sanctions. They made a plan to give two-thirds of Abyssinia to Italy to prevent her from starting war. Still, Italy did not accept the plan and conquered Abyssinia. Britain and France could do nothing but satisfy the wants of Italy. The mild attitude of Britain and France was due to the appeasement policy. It strongly stimulated German expansion.

In 1935, Germany started to rearm its army. Violating the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler introduced conscription. As Germany had withdrawn from the League of Nations, the League could not condemn the action of Germany. Yet, Britain and France also did

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