Phoenix: The Appeasers

by Martin Gilbert and Richard Gott

• ISBN13: 9781842120507
• ISBN10: 1842120506
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-31
• Publisher: Phoenix

Summary

The pre-war administration of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, ignoring the advice of seasoned diplomats and seasoned politicians alike, pursued a policy of appeasement in the mistaken belief that it would cause Adolf Hitler to cease his belligerent plans. Instead, it showed Hitler that the British government were willing to come to terms with him at the expense of other, smaller, nations.Martin Gilbert and Richard Gott, two young Oxford historians when they wrote this book in 1963, produced this compelling account of how a whole important branch of foreign policy was developed, how it was carried out, and why it was misconceived. They reveal what the appeasers sought, and the methods they were prepared to use to achieve their ends.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	ix
Foreword	xv
PART ONE
The Birth of Appeasement: 1933	3	(22)
Hitler's Visitors	25	(24)
The New Men	49	(31)
Colonial Appeasement	80	(25)
PART TWO
``A Far-Away Country''	105	(14)
Sudeten Crisis	119	(13)
Coercing the Czechs	132	(12)
Berchtesgaden	144	(8)
Godesberg	152	(25)
Munich	177	(12)
PART THREE
Economic Appeasement	189	(10)
Search for Agreement	199	(10)
Czech Gold	209	(4)
Wilson and Wohltat	213	(20)
PART FOUR
Tilea's Indiscretion	233	(15)
Danzig Dilemma	248	(13)
Pledges to Poland	261	(9)
Coercing the Poles	270	(18)
Henderson Versus Kennard	288	(13)
PART FIVE
War Without War	301	(7)
The Revolt of Conscience	308	(19)
Leaflets Versus Bombs	327	(16)
``Decayed Serving Men''	343	(12)
Cabinet Ministers: May, 1937-September, 1939	353	(2)
Biographical Sketches	355	(24)
Notes	379	(31)
Bibliography	410	(13)
Maps	423	(2)
Index	425