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Appeasement Continued (Chapter 1 Chamberlains way)

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England late March 1939.

The end of the bitter British Cabinet meeting after the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia.

Hoare: We must do some thing Neville the press and public are clamouring for action.

Chamberlain: I know Sam but I want to make possible renewed negotiation with Germany.

Halifax: Herr Hitler's attitude has made it impossible to continue to negotiate.

Hoare: Listen to Lord Halifax Neville we need to offer the Poles something or they will be next.

Chamberlain: I shall speak with Herr Hitler again about his claims to German speaking lands.

Halifax: Hitler is not interested merely in the re-assembly of racial elements accidentally separated from the parent stock... Hitler's purposes and ambitions are not limited by any boundaries of race; it is the lust of continental world mastery that drives him.

Chamberlain: This is a hard choice to make. I have much of the Foreign office telling me to do nothing, much of the press and the Americans telling me to make a stand against Hitler.
What should I do?

Halifax: Britain and France should offer Poland the same type of guarantee that they wanted Poland to offer Rumania.

Chamberlain: But this could drag us directly into war and would be a direct departure from our policies up to now.

Halifax: We were faced with the dilemma of doing nothing, or entering into a devastating war. If we did nothing this in itself would mean a great accession to Germany's strength and a great loss to ourselves of sympathy and support in the United States, in the Balkan countries, and in other parts of the world. In those circumstances if we had to choose between two great evils I favour our going to war.

Chamberlain: Yes or no which may decide the fate of not only a generation but the British Empire itself.
War is a most terrible thing.
I will go to the house and propose we sign an outright and open alliance with France.
That will assuage Hitler from any move west and may well curtail any action against the Poles.

Hoare: At least that is something.

Halifax: That may not be enough for the public Neville and certainly not the Americans who im assured would back us on this.

Chamberlain: Im sure the public will not desire war which this guarantee would mean.
As for the Americans we can not be sure of their support.


Lord Halifax and Samual Hoare.

House of Commons March 29th
The Prime Minister (Mr. Chamberlain): The right hon. gentleman the leader of the Opposition asked me this morning whether I could make a statement as to the European situation. As I said this morning, His Majesty's Government have no official confirmation of the rumours of any projected attack on Poland and they must not, therefore, be taken as accepting them as true.
I am glad to take this opportunity of stating again the general policy of His Majesty's Government. They have constantly advocated the adjustment, by way of free negotiation between the parties concerned, of any differences that may arise between them. They consider that this is the natural and proper course where differences exist. In their opinion there should be no question incapable of solution by peaceful means, and they would see no justification for the substitution of force or threats of force for the method of negotiation.
As the House is aware, certain consultations are now proceeding with other Governments. In order to make perfectly clear the position of His Majesty's Government in the meantime before those consultations are concluded, I now have to inform the House that during that period, in the event of recent action in Eastern Europe which clearly could pose a threat to British and French interests I here by announce a formal and official Franco-British military alliance.
His Majesty's Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the French Government all support in their power. They have given the French Government an assurance to this effect.
I may add that the French Government have authorised me to make it plain that they stand in the same position in this matter of any threat to British interests as do His Majesty's Government.

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