Synopses & Reviews
In this controversial re-evaluation of Neville Chamberlain and appeasement, Frank McDonough draws on a fascinating range of primary and secondary sources to make his case. He argues that Chamberlain believed a Second World War would be disastrous for Britain, and focussed all his energies to avoid it. In doing so, he used and abused the 'mood of his age', which favoured a collective international drive o preserve peace, and not nationally self-interested policy which Chamberlain followed. It was Hitler's entry into Prague in March 1939 which exposed appeasement as a fantasy and forced Chamberlain, under pressure from national opinion, to make a half-hearted and muddled attempt to stand up to the dictator. It was a task to which Chamberlain's flawed political judgement was even more ill-suited and which ultimately led to the outbreak of war in September 1939. The book differs from other studies of the subject by setting Chamberlain's actions within a wider chronological framework and by taking a fresh look at the underlying influences on the policy of appeasement within British society.
Synopsis
Re-examines the controversial policy of appeasement. The text suggests that the mood of the age in British society served to support appeasement, by analyzing the cluster of military, strategic, imperial and economic forces which served to justify it. The book argues that, when Neville Chamberlain came to power, appeasement was part of a broad consensus in British society to avoid a second world war. It provides an interpretation of Chamberlain's conduct by showing how he used and abused the mood of the age to justify a selfish and ambitious policy which was idealogically prejudiced. Yet, when Hitler entered Prague in March 1939, the public mood changed, and Chamberlain found himself a prisoner of a new mood which forced him to make a tactical and half-hearted attempt to stand up to Hitler for which he had no enthusiasm.
Synopsis
Drawing on a wide range of material, including primary sources, Frank McDonough re-examines the controversial policy of appeasement in a new and challenging way. He explains now the "mood of the age" in British society served to support appeasement by analyzing the cluster of military, strategic, imperial and economic forces which served to justify it. The author argues that, when Neville Chamberlain came to power, appeasement was part of a broad consensus in British society to avoid a Second World War. McDonough provides a new and controversial interpretation of Chamberlain's conduct by showing how he used and abused the mood of the age to justify a selfish and ambitious policy which was ideologically prejudiced. Yet when Hitler entered Prague in March 1939, the public mood changed and Chamberlain was the prisoner of a new mood which forced him to make a tactical and half-hearted attempt to stand up to Hitler, for which he had no enthusiasm.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-185) and index.