| I very much agree with your posts, FVD, but, in Neville Chamberlain's defence, I would point out that he finally realized he was duped by Hitler, and than declared war on Germany! Unfortunately, this has not happened with the appeasers of today. |
Remember also that most of Europe had lost a generation of their young men 20 years before Munich, including several members of my family on the first day of the Somme. The pain of that was great. Growing up I remember visiting my Great Aunt in Brighton. There was a home there for the veterans blinded by the gas attacks of the first war. Very sad to think what they had been though, and was my first realization that war wasn't all blood and glory.
No one wanted confrontation and war. Hitler was taking advantage of this situation by proclaiming it as undoing the unjust peace of Versailles and uniting the Germanic people. The UK was not ready for war, but pretty soon after Munich the ball dropped and Chamberlain realized that it was inevitable, thus the mutual defense pact with Poland that lead the the shooting match kick-off. This was Hitlers first miss-step as I think he thought that the UK wouldn't do it. Munich bought some time for Great Britain to prepare. I don't think that anyone of the great powers gets off scott free. France was paranoid and the US was just non existent.
I do not think that anyone would envisage in their worst nightmares what would happen with the development of the Nazi's final solution.