Adam Sisman
Phoney Peace
Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War
By Tim Bouverie
The Bodley Head 497pp £20
Could the Second World War have been prevented? In the 1930s the stability of Europe was endangered by rapacious dictators, while Japan threatened Western interests in the Far East. The United States had withdrawn from international affairs and the Soviet Union was thought to be untrustworthy, so it was left to Britain and France to restrain the insurgents through conciliation and concession. Belatedly, after several retreats, Britain and France committed themselves to defending Poland, though they did so reluctantly and were in no position to offer much practical assistance. Only months after war broke out, France collapsed, as much as a result of internal weakness as external assault. Thereafter Britain stood alone. At the last possible moment, with a new leader, Britain found the resilience to defy Hitler.
In hindsight, it appeared that the policy of appeasement had been doomed from the start. Hitler had always planned a war and Mussolini would follow on his coat-tails. Truckling to their demands only encouraged their aggression. The road to war was clear, the motives of the dictators obvious.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
When @djbduncan notices the text for a literary jigsaw puzzle had been written by a former colleague, his head spins. A wild surmise. Are jigsaws REF-able?
Dennis Duncan - The W Factor
Dennis Duncan: The W Factor
literaryreview.co.uk
In an effort to scold drinkers, Victorian temperance societies furiously marked every drinking establishment with a red X on city maps. It was a spectacular case of propaganda backfiring.
@foxtosser explores the history of drink maps
Edward Brooke-Hitching - From Beer Street to Gin Lane
Edward Brooke-Hitching: From Beer Street to Gin Lane - Drink Maps in Victorian Britain by Kris Butler
literaryreview.co.uk
How did a workers’ insurance agent who died of tuberculosis at the age of forty become a global literary icon?
@MortenHoiJensen on Kafka's metamorphosis
Morten Høi Jensen - Paranoid Humanoid
Morten Høi Jensen: Paranoid Humanoid - Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka by Karolina Watroba; Kafka: Making o...
literaryreview.co.uk