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After Munich - The End of Appeasement
 

   

On 28 Sept 1938, Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement.  Within a year, however, Britain and Germany were at war. 

There were many factors which drive Chamberlain to declare war on Germany. 

   

The first was opposition and pressure from within Britain.  The Munich agreement caused a lot of anger in Britain.  On 3 October, Duff Cooper, First Lord of the Admiralty, resigned, and on 27 October, Quentin Hogg, a Chamberlain supporter, won a by-election in Oxford, but his opponent was supported by many Conservatives (including Winston Churchill), who claimed: 'A vote for Hogg is a vote for Hitler'.  In February 1939, British MPs shouted '' at Chamberlain in Parliament, suggesting that he was a Nazi-lover.  All this pressurised Chamberlain to take a firmer stand against Hitler. 

   

Also, events during the year after September 1938 proved that Nazism was a nasty, dangerous and continuing threat.  On 8 November – on '' – the Nazis attacked the German Jews.  On 28 February 1939, the Fascist ruler won the Spanish Civil War.  On 13 April, Mussolini (the Fascist ruler of Italy) conquered Albania.  And on 22 May, Hitler and Mussolini made an alliance (called the ).  Appeasement was being proved to have failed to stop Hitler's aggression. 

The most important event was on 15 March 1939, when Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia.  It was the first time Hitler had attacked a non-German people, and it proved to most British people that Hitler would only be stopped by a war.  Even Chamberlain said it was a ''.  Britain signed a with Poland, promising to send military aid if Poland was attacked, as it was clearly next on Hitler's list. 

Only one thing was stopping Hitler invading Poland, and that was Russia.  On 19 May, Stalin had suggested an alliance of France, Britain and Russia against Hitler, and on 11 August, British politicians had gone to Moscow for talks with Russia.  On 23 August , however, Russia and Germany signed the – a treaty not to go to war with each other, but to attack and divide Poland between them; it was the green light for Hitler's invasion. 

On 26 August Hitler sent 2000 armed Nazis to to stir up trouble, then demanded Danzig and the Polish corridor.  On 31 August, Hitler offered to defend the British Empire if Britain let him have Danzig and all the former German colonies – it was a mocking offer, and when on 1 September Britain refused, Hitler invaded Poland. 

On 3 Sept 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. 

   

All this time, Britain had been preparing for war, and – in September 1939 – was much more ready for war than in 1938.  This was not a pressure on Chamberlain to go to war, but the following measures had meant that he could go to war if he needed:

•  1 December 1938: a '' had been drawn up of who would do what if there was a war. 

•  3 January 1939: Britain strengthened the navy and RAF (production of planes increases to 400 a month). 

•  15 February: Defence spending was increased to £580 million.  A quarter of a million free were given to Londoners. 

•  29 March: the Territorial Army was doubled in size. 

•  5 April: the Civil Defence Act was passed (to allow evacuation: the first children were 31 August ).

•  25 April: Defence spending was increased again – to £1,322 million. 

•  1 May: the introduced conscription.