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Neville Chamberlain was a decent man. He may also well be the greatest failure as a prime minister in British history. Not because he was dishonest or venal, but because he was unwilling to use power. Up through Munich most most British people agreed with this approach, the result was catastrophe in Europe and almost the end of Britain as an independent country. His name will be for ever associated with the policy of appeasement and the Munich Conference.
Neville's father was Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) a businessman turned politician.
Neville's older half-brother was Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (1863-37) a British statesman, specializing in foreign affairs and becoming foreign minister. The title of his book, Peace in Our Time was used by his brother when he returned from Munich.
Neville attended Rugby and Mason College, Birmingham.
Chamberlain began his political career in the years right before World War I. His first elected office was on the Birmingham City Council and became lord mayor during the war (1915-16). It was this time that he made the transitioin to national office. He was appointed a member of the Central Control Board (1915) and director of national service (1916-17). After the war he ran for parliament as a Conservative and served in varuious ministries: post master general (1922-23), paymaster general, minister of health, and chancllor of the exchquer (1923-24). It was when he returned as minister of health for a second time (1924-29) that he established a national reputation, carrying out important reforms. He became chancllor of the exchquer again (1931) and ballanced the budget during the Depression. The advisability of ballancing the budget seems questionable, but it was a highly regarded achievemnent among Conservative Party stalwarts and thus he became the leading Conservative MP slated to replace Prime Minister Baldwin.
The policy of appeasement is today a disgraced policy, largely because its assoiciation with Munich and the start of World War II. The fact is, that it might well have precented war if Chamberlain had been working with a German leader who also desired to avert war. It was beyond Chamberlain's understanding that a leader of a great European nation could actually desire a war.
Chamberlin became prime minister with the avowed purose of avoiding another European war (May 1937). Chamberlain remembering the horrors of World War I attempted to avoid war with Germany he tried to reason with Hitler. It never crossed his mind that a man could actually desire a European war. Chamberlain suggested to the cabinent his idea of placating Hitler by offering him African colonies. He disagreed with an academic assessment that NAZI Germany was a threat to Britain and that the NAZIs at their core had an evil nature that would inevitably lead to war. [Roberts]
Chamberlain's desire for peace led his to forsake the Czechs, who were prepared to fight, and the Sudetenland was handed over to Hitler under the Munich Agreement. Chamberlain flew back to London waising Herr Hitler's signature, proclaiming that it guaranteed "Peace in our times". Churchill was agast. Chamberlain was outraged when Hitler occupied the rest of Czecheslovakia in direct violation of the Munich Pact (March 1939). Hitler had asured Chamberlain that he wanted no Czechs in the Reich. The NAZIs replied with an ivitation for Britain to join Germany in dictating the peace of the entire world.
Munich was not Chamberlain's only act of appeasement. Chamberlain helped set up a committe to promote non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). He obtained British recognition of Italian sovereignty over Ethiopia (November 1938). He also gained British recogonition of the Franco Government in Spain (1939).
The British Government began negotiating with other countries it felt were threatened by Germany. Agreements with Poland and Turkey weee quickly signed. France already had an afreement with Poland. Hitler dnounced the agreement with Britain and began making demands for the return of Danzig and the Polish Corridor which sence the Versailles Peace Treaty had separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. Both had large German populations. As he had done with Czechoslovalia, Hitler insisted that he had no desire to rule over Poles. Despite what had happened at Munich, Chanberlain's desire to prevent war was so great, that he waa incredibly was still willing to deal with Hitler. Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, who considered himself an expert on England, assured Hitler that England would not go to war over Poland.
One of the great stories of World War II was the personal friendship and relationship between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill and the role it played in winning World War II. The relationship, or in actuality the lack of a relationship between Chamberlain and Roosevelt, is thus an iteresting anomaly. One has to wonder why there was no similar relationship between Chamberlain and Roosevelt. Why would a British prime-minister as Europe moved toward war not reached out to the United States? When you consider the extrondinary attempts he took to reach out to Hitler, this lack of effort toward Roosevelt is striking. Of course because of the isolationists, President Roosevelt could not offer immediate military assistance, but he did attempt to build a relationship with Chamberlain when he became primeminister. The President was aware of Chamberlain's abideing interest in preventing war. He invited Chamberlain to Washington (June 1937). The invitation was conveyed by Ambassador-at-Large Norman Davis. Chamberlain showed no interest in such an invitation. The President must have felt snubbed. One can only wonder why Chamberlain would not have showed interest in such an invitation. The President's son Elliot writes that he believes that Chamberlain was convinced that he ws uniquely capable of effectively dealing with Hitler and Mussolini. [E. Roosevelt, vol. I p 703.] After Munich as Europe drifted to War, President Roosevelt invited the King and Queen to visit America, obstensibly to visit the World Fair (1939). The Royal couple graciously accepted the invitation. They were very favorably greeted by the American people. It was the beginning of the building of an American-British relationship that would play such a key role in winning World War II. Of course after being appointed First Lord of the Admiralty (September 1939), Churchill took the next step in the process and began to correspond with President Roosevelt.
Germany launched World War II with its Blitzkrieg of Poland (September 1, 1939) and Chanberlain reluctantly announced a declaratuon of war (September 30). Chamberlain was forced to resign after the Germns defeated British forces in Norway (1940). Shortly afterward the storm broke with the great German Western Offensive (May-June 1940). He was replaced by Winston Churchill. He continued on as lord president of the war council and head of the Conservative Party. Ill health forced him to resign (October 1940) as the Blitz was raging. He died soon afterwards a broken man.
Roberts, Stephen. The House that Hitler Built.
Rock, William R. Chamberlain and Roosevelt: British Foreign Policy and the United States. 1937-1940.
Roosevelt, Elliot. Ed. F.D.R. His Personal Letters, 1928-45. See the note in Vol. I, p. 703.
Schmitz, David F. and Richard D. Challener. Appeasement in Europe: A Reassessment of U.S. Policies (Greenwood Press, 1990), 200p.
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