Britains Policy of Appeasement and Relationship with Ireland - Coursework Example

Research Question: Has Britain’s dedication to the policy of appeasement during in Years 1936-39 affected her relationship with Ireland? Introduction: The policy of appeasement had formed the bedrock of the British foreign policy, especially against Nazi Germany during the 1930’s. “Britain and France pursued a policy of appeasement in the hope that Hitler would not drag Europe into another world war. Appeasement expressed the widespread British desire to heal the wounds of World War I and to correct what many British officials regarded as the injustices of the Versailles Treaty.” (Neville Chamberlain on Appeasement 1939). This was the war policy, believed to have been enunciated, by the then British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, primarily, in order to avoid the harrowing prospects of yet another World War. Secondly, to promote peace and harmony in the region by striking an agreement with Hitler’s Germany in order to dissuade him from his aggressive and self-aggrandisement policies, aimed at increasing the territorial jurisdiction of Germany. Lastly, the idea was to set Germany eastward to fight the Russians, who, with its Red Army, could posed as a powerful threat to British suzerainty.” They had to coexist with a resurgent Germany and sought to channel German aggression towards Russia.” (Jones 1987). Although Britain wanted all the dominions to be together, the dominions did not share her views, especially the Irish Free State. “In 1937 she became a republic in form although she stopped short of describing herself as a republic and the King continued to sign letters of credence for Ireland’s newly-appointed heads of mission. She remained neutral throughout the second world war.” (Lloyd 1998). Ineffectuality of appeasement policy However, the policy of appeasement did not work out since Germany under Hitler did not follow the spirit of the Munich Agreement signed in 1938 and invaded Czechoslovakia. The euphoria of signing the peace treaty with Germany ended with the attack on this country. “However, the success of appeasement was shortlived, as Hitler occupied Prague the following year.” (Neville Chamberlain). Thus, the peace talks were violated by Hitler, who violated the Munich accord and turned aggressor. Sir Winston Churchill overtly condemned the policy of appeasement pursued by Chamberlain being fully aware of Hitler’s designs.” The futility of appeasement and the need to stand up to dictators - is one that has been taken for granted as a self-evident truth in Western society, both during the period of the Cold War and subsequently.” (Charmeley 2007). He was also fully aware of Hitler’s intentions in annexing more countries into Germany’s domain, and had premonitions of Hitler’s intentions not to honour the Munich Agreement and showing scant respect for International Peace Treaties or its perpetrators. “The Munich Agreement, signed by the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy, agreed that the Sudetenland would be returned to Germany and that no further territorial claims would be made by Germany.” (failure of Appeasement 2007). However, Nazi Germany preferred to bypass the accord in words and actions. Why is this study important? This research area focuses on the important events that precipitated the Second World War. It also needs to consider the fact that Britain’s involvement in foreign affairs had made it unaware of its own internal crisis and the eventual bifurcation of Britain into Ireland, and its ability to contain the Civil War in its own country. This is why it assumes special significance. The political climate which led to the build up of the Second World War was the series of pacts and agreements, which committed Great Britain, France and several other countries that needed to help Czechoslovakia and more importantly, Poland. The US remained non-committant and did not enter the war, even when it actually commenced. Hitler’s naked and blatant attack of Czechoslovakia, and later, Poland, forced Great Britain and her allies to reluctantly enter an undesired war. It also reduced the Munich Agreement to a scrap of paper and forced Britain to abandon its hitherto appeasement policy towards Germany, since now the Allied forces had lost hope in Nazi Germany and its fascist, imperialist and arrogant leader. The Sudetenland region had been important to Czechoslovakia since it was a crucial opening point to several international borders defences, and Britain’s policy of appeasement and Germany’s strong arm tactics eventually led to the division of the Sudetenland area between Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Events leading to the creation of Irish Free State For conducting a research study on how appeasement influenced Irish-British relationship, it is, first, necessary to study the events leading to the creation of the Irish Free State. The internal civil war raging in the country, resulting predominantly, from clashes between the Protestant British and Catholic Irish, culminated in the establishment of Irish Free State, as a dominion on December 6, 1922.Six Northern countries opted to remain with the United Kingdoms. “Though in public Bonar Law was one of Unionism’s “hard men,” behind the scenes he struggled for a compromise acceptable to Ulstermen, Irish Nationalists, and the British parties, a compromise that led to the separation of Northern Ireland.” (Adams 1999). These countries collectively came to be known as Northern Ireland. However, in the year 1937, the new Constitution of Ireland was adopted by which the office of the Governor-General passed on into history and in its place, the position of a President of Ireland was set in vogue. Moreover, a comparatively more powerful position of Prime Minister or ‘taoiseach’ was created, with the erstwhile executive council being transformed into the government. “Ireland is a parliamentary democracy. The National Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of the President and two Houses: Dáil Éireann (the House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate), whose powers and functions derive from the Constitution of Ireland enacted by the People on 1 July 1937. Each House of the Oireachtas has power under its Standing Orders to form Committees for specific purposes.” (Houses of The Oireachtas 2007). However, an interesting aspect of Irish rule was that the British Monarchy continued to wield power and suzerainty over Ireland in its external affairs, with the President of Ireland wielding only internal powers at the behest of the monarchy. Methodology of the Research Work The Methodology for the research work could be through Internet Research and the Information received through different authentic Government websites would help in arriving at a consensus regarding the topic under dissertation. The ideas posted by different government sites would be useful in finding out a result for subject of research. Some other useful materials are the printed materials for the subject under research study, which could be gathered from newspaper dailies, war journals and other literature available on the subject. The other sources that could be approached are interviews with a wide cross-section of surviving soldiers and individuals, who comprised the fighting force of the British and allied armies. Information could also be obtained from war museums, agencies and organisations which have survived the holocaust of the Second World War and who could provide first hand accounts of the tumultuous events that heralded the Second World War during the years 1936 -1939. The other methodology like questionnaires or random survey methods cannot be implemented since it would not be able to provide authentic answers for the research question and the scope of study would become limited if these methods is used. Derivation of sources: The available sources are Primary or Secondary data collections: Primary Sources: Interviews with war veterans and civilians involved in the war efforts in Britain Data available from war museums, and other places of national importance in Britain and Ireland, which deals with the subject under research. Interviews with living members or relatives of the political leaders who played an active role in Irish-British relationships during that time. War correspondences, diaries, and memoirs of leaders involved in Irish and British history. (Churchill’s speeches 1936-1946). Secondary Sources: Internet searches and relevant links for assimilating matter for research study. CD, DVDs, Video recordings of Films, Documentaries and video clippings available on the subject Archives of newspapers,historical journals, books, periodicals, and magazines relating to Irish- British relationship during the period under research. Weblogs relating to the subject under research study. The following books could also be used : 1. The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement – edited by Wolfgang J. Mommsen and Lothar Kettenacker: London: G. Allen & Unwin (1983). 2. British Politics and Foreign Policy in the age of Appeasement 1935-1939- by RJQ Adams 3. Munich: Prologue to tragedy – Sir John Wheeler : Bennett :New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce (1948) 4. British Foreign and Imperial Affairs: 1919- 1939 : Alan Farmer (II edition) The newspapers that could be consulted as part of the research study are The Daily Express, Daily Mirror, News of the World, The People, and Sunday Express. (Microform Collection 1993). Adequacy of Sources for carrying out the Research: It is felt that to conduct a research study on the events transpiring in Ireland and Great Britain (including Northern Ireland) during the years 1936-39 would require a long, voluminous, and intensive study. This is primarily since it would entail sifting the available historical data to suit the requirements of the research study and there is a perceived lack of substantive data on the subject. Yet another perspective that needs to be viewed in this regard is that the chronological order of events from 1936-1938 was totally overshadowed by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1940, and therefore archival records attach greater emphasis and significance on the Great War and its aftermath, including the genesis of the United Nations Organisations. . Works cited Neville Chamberlain on Appeasement. 1939. The History Guide. http://www.historyguide.org/europe/munich.html Jones, Mark. 1987. Stalin, Appeasement and the Second World War. http://www.columbia.edu/~lnp3/mark_jones/appeasement.htm Lloyd, Lorna. 1998. Loosening the apron strings. the dominion and Britain in the inter-war. Keele university. http://www.psa.ac.uk/publications/psd/1998/lloyd2.htm Neville Chamberlain. Economic crisis. 10 Downing Street. http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page135.asp Charmeley, John. 2007. Churchill: the gathering storm. World War Two. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/churchill_gathering_storm_01.shtml failure of Appeasement. 2007. World War two causes. http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW2/causes.htm Adams, R.J.Q. 1999. Bonar Law. Stanford university press. http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?book_id=3716 Houses of The Oireachtas. 2007. Parliament of Ireland. Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. Leinster House, Dublin. http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/home.asp Churchill’s speeches 1936-1946. Churchill society. London. http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/SpchIndx.html Microform Collection. 1993. Popular news papers during world war II. Monash university library. London. http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/microform/5831.html Read More