The policy of appeasement advocated by Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1939, has been criticized by Churchill, British Prime Minister from 1040 to 1945, as well as other historians. Appeasement refers to the act of fulfilling the demands of another in order to prevent war. Historians debate whether this policy was effective. There are two sides to the issue, while some historians argue that if Chamberlain had abandoned the policy of appeasement and instead adopted a more aggressive policy towards Hitler's moves, World War II could have been avoided. Others disagree that if it had not been for Chamberlain's policies, World War II would have broken out earlier and Britain would have been involved before it was ready for war. However these are just speculations. We cannot really know whether the outcome would have been better or worse if the Chamberlain, or rather Britain and France, had taken a firmer stand against Hitler. In 1935, two years after coming to power, Hitler announced that he intended to increase the number of his army five times what the treaty dictated, and neither France nor Britain took any decisive action apart from a formal protest (Philip MH Bell, Was The Appeasement Of Hitler by Britain and France sensible and logical or foolish and counterproductive?). He also sent his troops into the demilitarized Rhineland further violating the treaty and yet there was no reaction from either power. If Britain and France had taken action against Hitler for his breach of the treaty before Chamberlain's appointment, then Hitler might not have been as encouraged as he was by the fact that Britain and France had stood by while he did his moves. ..... middle of paper ......actions could be taken Germany claimed to have been attacked by Poles near the border. Britain still tried to initiate some form of negotiation and sent an ultimatum to Germany with a set deadline, but Germany did not respond. It then became clear to the Chamberlain and France that negotiations would not work in this situation. On 3 September 1939 both Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. In conclusion, appeasement, although ultimately unsuccessful, succeeded in delaying the war until such time as Britain and France were reasonably well prepared. We can consider that if Britain and France had opposed Germany from the beginning and used brute force against Hitler, the war could have been avoided. Yes, it may have been avoided, but the opposite is also true. World War II may have broken out before 1939 and the results may have been more disastrous than the actual outcome.