Why did England appease Hitler?

Answer 1

"You seriously need to check your history. England (Britain in fact, not just England) NEVER gave in to Hitler." Actually, I think the problem here is the way the person worded the question. It is indeed correct to say England did not "give in" (as in surrender), but many people felt that Neville Chamberlain, whose policy as prime minister was to appease Hitler, gave in to him. Chamberlain truly believed that he could bargain with Hitler and that Hitler would compromise. Hitler, of course, had NO intention to compromise, and when Chamberlain came back home to England claiming he had basically prevented a war, and that there would be "peace in our time," he found out all too soon that Hitler had no intention of compromising, nor did he want peace. Chamberlain's serious mistake was trying to appease Hitler, and as I said, many people saw that as "giving in" to him.

Answer 2

This is easy. England did not appease Hitler. England, like the rest of Europe, was caught flat-footed by Hitlers rapid rise to power and the subsequent hyper-aggressive militarism of the third reich, so soon after beating Germany so comprehensively ,(it was thought) in the "Great" War.

Neville Chamberlain went to Munich to play for the time England needed to rearm to fight the Nazi menace. Didn't fool anyone except for a couple of generations of sloppy historians. After stepping off the plane and declaring "Peace in our time" Chamberlain immediately began to organize the rebuilding of the RAF, which juuust made the difference between the survival of European civilization and its complete makeover in Hitler's image. His reputation as an appeaser and a coward are cruelly unmerited.

Yet another reason why Henry Ford's view of History is so apposite !