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Difficulty: HardCauses of World War II

Source: Winston Churchill, British Member of Parliament, speech to the House of Commons, October 5, 1938.

"We have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat, and France has suffered even more than we have. . . . All is over. Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. . . . And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time."

The policy of appeasement criticized in the excerpt was most directly motivated by which of the following?

  1. A
    An effort to transition the sovereign states of Eastern Europe into League of Nations mandates
  2. The deep-seated aversion of British and French leaders to another large-scale war after the trauma of World War IAnswer
  3. C
    A belief among British policymakers that Social Darwinism justified the restructuring of European borders
  4. D
    The fear that sudden mobilization in response to a diplomatic assassination would automatically trigger secret alliances

Answer

The policy of appeasement was primarily driven by the deep-seated aversion of British and French leaders to entering another devastating large-scale war after the trauma of World War I.
The correct option is correct because the Munich Agreement of 1938 represented the height of the policy of appeasement, which was primarily driven by the intense aversion of British and French political leaders and their public to another catastrophic military conflict so soon after the devastating losses of World War I.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the source to identify the subject of Churchill's criticism.
Churchill is criticizing the Munich Agreement of 1938, in which Britain and France agreed to the partition of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in an effort to maintain peace.
Understanding the context of the Munich Agreement is critical to identifying the policy of appeasement being described.
2
Evaluate the motivations of the democratic powers (Britain and France) in adopting appeasement.
Both nations had suffered catastrophic losses during World War I and faced strong pacifist public opinion, prompting leaders like Neville Chamberlain to negotiate concessions with Hitler to prevent another war.
This links the historical context directly to the core motivation behind the policy.
3
Eliminate the incorrect options based on historical accuracy.
The mandate system applied to colonies (not European nations); Social Darwinism was a German justification, not a British motive; and alliance triggers from assassinations describe World War I's outbreak.
Systematic elimination ensures that distractors representing common student errors are successfully ruled out.

Key Concept

The motivations behind the policy of appeasement and the failure of collective security leading to World War II.
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Topics

Causes of World War II

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