Neville Chamberlain

“It is better to jaw jaw, than war war.” This famous quote
was said by the British prime minister, Arthur Neville Chamberlain. Chamberlain was prime minister from 1937 – 1940. He was born into a political family in Birmingham on March 18, 1869. His father, Joseph Chamberlain and half brother, Austen Chamberlain were influential politicians in the late 19th and early 20th century. Chamberlain was educated in Birmingham in the Rugby School. He joined the debating society in which he spoke for the preservation of the United Kingdom. Later, he helped his father on his plantation in the Bahamas for seven years. A few years later, he married Anne de Vere Cole and had two children. After being elected into the Parliament as a Conservative, he ascended ranks, soon becoming the prime minister of Britain. His policy of appeasement was mostly disliked. After resigning from position of Chancellor, he still brought a great deal of support. Six months after leaving office, he died at the age of 71, on the 9th of November 1940.


In November 1911, Chamberlain was elected mayor in the Birmingham City Council, and immediately became the chairman of the Town Planning committee. In 1915, he became Lord Mayor of Birmingham, holding a high position and responsibility. In 1916, Chamberlain met with the prime minister, David Lloyd George in London. He was offered to become the Director of the National Service to ensure that war industries were able to function and they had an adequate number of workers. He accepted the post but later, due to disputes between him and Lloyd George, Neville Chamberlain resigned. In 1918, Chamberlain was elected Conservative member to the parliament and was promptly promoted. He served as a health minister and chancellor, and in 1937 he was offered the post of the Prime Minister. He readily accepted. During this time, Britain was suffering the aftermath of the great depression. People’s dislike for WW1 and the deaths caused by it was the reason Neville Chamberlain approached his policy of appeasement. In the Munich Conference, where Mussolini, Chamberlain, and Daladier met, Chamberlain proposed his policy towards Hitler, eventually offering the Czech province of Sudetenland to Germany. Chamberlain contemplated that by agreeing and giving in to some of the demands proposed by Germany, he would be able to prevent a future war. Hitler knew that Britain and France wouldn't take military action against Germany and so he increased his demands for land. Hitler was clearly breaking the terms stated within the Treaty of Versailles, but due to the policy of appeasement, Chamberlain was unable to do anything about it. In March 1939, Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia. This went against the Munich Agreement. Unfortunately for Chamberlain, his strive to keep peace broke. In response, Hitler signed the Pact of Steel, stating Germany and Italy would aid each other in times of need.When Germany took over Poland, he was forced to declare war on Germany, starting the Second World War.


Chamberlain was born into a family of influential politicians, eventually becoming one himself, after becoming a conservative member in the parliament in 1918. He hoped to avert another dreadful and disastrous war like WW1. For this, he decided to give into the demands of Germany, who were the hit the hardest after WW1. This was his policy of appeasement. Regrettably, Hitler didn’t follow the agreement signed between him and Chamberlain, causing Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement to fail. Chamberlain, unable to keep peace, declared war on Germany commencing WW2. Chamberlain’s attempt to avoid WW2 was unfruitful, but I think this attempt bought time for many countries suffering the Great Depression, unable to prepare quickly for another war, like France and Britain. Some soldiers who fought in WW1 were still suffering many war- related diseases, like the Gulf War Syndrome. (GWS) In many countries, people were trying to recover from the visions they had of the war and the deaths they had to experience. Chamberlain's policy of appeasement allowed such countries to prepare their soldiers and themselves, for the bloody battle which would occur. His visions for the future were ephemeral but his policy kept peace for his time. As he himself once said, he had "achieved peace for our time."

Works Cited
"Historic Figures." bbc.co.uk/history. 12 Jan 2008 . "Neville Chamberlain."
Spartacus Educational. 12 Jan 2008 .
"Neville Chamberlain." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 11 Jan 2008. 12 Jan 2008 .



By:Kiran and Hannah