Table Of Content

CHAMBERLAIN AND» THE LOST PEACE “I believe it is peace for our time.” These were the words of Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, as he flourished the “piece of paper”—the diplomatic agreement— - upon his return from the Munich Con- ference in October 1938. His speech and action have since been regarded by historians and observers as infamous symbols of appeasement of Hitler, and Chamberlain himself as weak and inef- fectual. Most studies of World War II go on to assume that it was, in some way, a triumph for Britain, a triumph for which Winston Churchill can take great credit. Now John Charmley’s important new reappraisal of the immediate ori- gins of the war challenges these com- mon assumptions. Based on extensive new research in the Chamberlain papers, the book starts from Chamber- lain’s belief that even a victorious war would be a disaster—it would destroy the foundations of British power and hand over Europe to Russian domina- | tion. Reconstructing Chamberlain’s policy assumptions, Mr. Charmley argues that they were neither naive nor foolish. While examining the prime minister’s personality, he also shows that Cham- berlain’s views were shared by many other leading politicians and diplomats. Mr. Charmley thus resurrects a whole _ school of thought on British foreign policy which was forgotten in the wake of Churchill’s triumph. That Britain survived and came out on the winning side owed much to sheer good for- tune—something on which Chamber- lain was not prepared to gamble an empire. The end result was, as he feared, a bankrupt Britain and an expansion of Russian power. John Charmley studied at Oxford and now lectures in English history at the University of East Anglia. His earlier books include Duff Cooper, Descent to Suez, and Lord Lloyd and the Decline of the British Empire. He is at work on a reevaluation of the career of Winston Churchill. Chamberlain and the Lost Peace Me S a “ _ — — — = i! = ais} RC My A GREAT MEDIATOR John Bull: ve known many Prime Ministers in my time, Sir, but never one who worked so hard for security in the face of such terrible odds.’ 5 October 1938. DTT 505 ie 4 cug WITH! \RATART 1989 Chamberlain and the Lost Peace JOHN CHARMLEY SA Ivan R. Dee, Publisher CHICAGO eeeetod nn CHAMBERLAIN AND THE LOST PEACE. Copyright © 1989 by John Charmley. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. For information, address: Ivan R. Dee, Inc., 1332 North Halsted Street, Chicago 60622. First American edition 1990. Manufactured in the United States of America and printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Charmley, John, 195 5- Chamberlain and the lost peace / John Charmley p- cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. _ ). ISBN 0-92.95 87-33-2 (alk. paper) 1. Chamberlain, Neville, 1869-1940. 2. Great Britain—Politics and government—1936-1945. 3. Great Britain—Foreign relations—1936-1945. 4. Great Britain—Foreign Relations—Germany. 5. Germany—Foreign relations—Great Britain. 6. World War, 1939-1945—Causes. I. Title. DA565.C4C48 1990 941.084—dc20 90-32618 CONTENTS List of illustrations and maps page vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi Prologue I The Prime Minister and the Ambassador & May — November 1937 Holy Fox and the Gamekeeper Nv November 1937 15 Eden and Chamberlain Ow May — November 1937 22 Chamberlain and Co. > November — December 1937 32 The Extrusion of Eden mn January — February 1938 40 The Cave of Adullam nN February 1938 52 The Traditions of British Foreign Policy J February — March 1938 60 Towards a Commitment co March — May 1938 a3 Chamberlain and Halifax © May — August 1938 82 The Dove of Peace I 0 August— 15 September 1938 93 I FA Dealing with Hitler 15-20 September 1938 105 I Nv Exercises in Cartography 21-28 September 1938 119 Light After Darkness? I Ow October 1938 133 14 ‘Morbid Anatomy’ October 193—M 8arc h 1939 143 15 The Persistence of Appeasement November 1938 — March 1939 154 16 The End of Appeasement? March 1939 17 Facilis Descensus Averni March — May 1939 176 18 ‘Die for Danzig?’ May — July 1939 186 19 Chamberlain’s War July — September 1939 197 Epilogue 210 Notes 213 Bibliography 238 List of Main Characters 243 Index 249