History UsefulNotes / NevilleChamberlain

That's good enough for high school history, but there's a lot more to him—and his decisions—than that. For a start, while he was a member of the Conservative Party, he was not really a Conservative. He described himself as a Unionist, referencing the defunct [[PoliticalIdeologies Liberal]] Unionist party his father had been in.

Whilst his quote is mostly recalled for its ironic value, Chamberlain was neither naïve nor stupid. "Appeasement" was the ''only'' politically acceptable option, and [[PresidentEvil Hitler's megalomania]] was not apparent [[VillainWithGoodPublicity thanks to his meticulous management of his public image]]. Though he publicly proclaimed that the move would avert war, he started Britain's programme of rearmament just to be on the safe side. His wisdom and foresight paid off when he was forced to declare war upon Germany in aid of Poland in September 1939… and the public rallied behind him and a war [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption they then understood was inevitable]] [[note]] French public opinion, on the other hand, was [[{{Foreshadowing}} at least partly of the opinion that Poland was none of their business]] [[/note]].

On a final note, while Germany was far more unprepared for war than The Allies in 1938 Chamberlain was quite right to think—thanks in large part to the advice of UsefulNotes/StanleyBaldwin—that The Allies' material advantage would only increase over time, and that Britain would in any case need at least two years of all-out armament ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI as she had last time, in 1916]]) before she would be able to field armies of comparable size to those of France and Germany. In fact, [[GenreSavvy by 1935, he had already realized Hitler was a danger to European peace]] and advocated strengthening the Royal Air Force, and immediately after Munich he commenced such a program of rearmament. The very first thing he did on his return was meet with representatives of various industries to get them to ready for war; many factory workers did their first overtime ever in the weeks following the Munich treaty to meet the government's new orders. Whether this was the "right" thing to do or not (given France's poor [[StrategyVersusTactics operational-level]] performance against German forces in 1940, something greater German unpreparedness could have rendered moot) is still a matter of historical debate, though the wisdom of his decision at the time should be quite apparent from what we've brought up so far (for your browsing pleasure).

There was also the matter that the UK didn't want to go to war if it could avoid it at all—a war over the Czech Germans wouldn't have just been controversial, it would have been ''deeply'' unpopular if not unjustifiable to the French leadership and public. Chamberlain wasn't the only Allied leader at Munich, it must be remembered—Prime Minister Édouard Daladier also approved of negotiation for the same reasons. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI had killed a million each of both countries' best and brightest young men, and even though their reserves of trained manpower had been replenished (and stood at nearly a dozen times that of Germany's), the psychological aversion to warfare hadn't. The antiwar stance was the one which best represented public opinion at the time, the Munich Agreement being generally popular in Britain and France with {{UsefulNotes/Winston Churchill}} being the most famous of a mere handful of dissenters. A Mass Observation poll of the time put public approval for Munich at about 60% and opposition at 30%, the rest being undecided.

On September 1, 1939, the ''Wehrmacht'' crossed the border into Poland, a country that Britain and France had promised to defend from German aggression. Recognizing that the time for peace was over, Chamberlain issued an ultimatum to Hitler: withdraw his forces immediately, or face war. On the deadline date of September 3, no withdrawal was imminent, and so Britain formally declared war, soon followed by France and the Commonwealth countries. Unfortunately, a surprise invasion by the USSR meant that the Polish campaign was over in less than a month, before any meaningful assistance could be rendered. The Allies and Germans then faced several months of non-combat, known as the "Phoney War" or "Sitzkrieg." Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members—he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

There was also the matter that the UK didn't want to go to war if it could avoid it at all—a war over the Czech Germans wouldn't have just [[YesMinister been controversial]], it would have been ''deeply'' unpopular if not unjustifiable to the French leadership and public. Chamberlain wasn't the only Allied leader at Munich, it must be remembered—Prime Minister Édouard Daladier also approved of negotiation for the same reasons. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI had killed a million each of both countries' best and brightest young men, and even though their reserves of trained manpower had been replenished (and stood at nearly a dozen times that of Germany's), the psychological aversion to warfare hadn't. The antiwar stance was the one which best represented public opinion at the time, the Munich Agreement being generally popular in Britain and France with {{UsefulNotes/Winston Churchill}} being the most famous of a mere handful of dissenters. A Mass Observation poll of the time put public approval for Munich at about 60% and opposition at 30%, the rest being undecided.

On September 1, 1939, the ''Wehrmacht'' crossed the border into Poland, a country that Britain and France had promised to defend. Recognizing that the time for peace was over, Chamberlain issued an ultimatum for the Germans to withdraw their forces immediately, or face war. On the deadline date of September 3, no withdrawal was imminent, and so Britain formally declared war, soon followed by France and the Commonwealth countries. Unfortunately, a surprise invasion by the USSR meant that the Polish campaign was over in less than a month, before any meaningful assistance could be rendered. The Allies and Germans then faced several months of non-combat, known as the "Phoney War" or "Sitzkrieg." Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members—he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

On September 1, 1939, the ''Wehrmacht'' crossed the border into Poland, a country that Britain and France had promised to defend. Chamberlain issued an ultimatum for the Germans to withdraw their forces immediately, or face war. On the deadline date of September 3, no withdrawal was imminent, and so Britain formally declared war, soon followed by France and the Commonwealth countries. Unfortunately, a surprise invasion by the USSR meant that the Polish campaign was over in less than a month. The Allies and Germans then faced several months of non-combat, known as the "Phoney War" or "Sitzkrieg." Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members—he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

On September 1, 1939, the ''Wehrmacht'' started its invasion of Poland, a country that Britain and France had promised to defend. Chamberlain issued an ultimatum for the Germans to withdraw their forces immediately, or face war. On the deadline date of September 3, no withdrawal was imminent, and so Britain formally declared war, soon followed by France and the Commonwealth countries. Unfortunately, a surprise invasion by the USSR meant that the Polish campaign was over in less than a month. The Allies and Germans then faced several months of non-combat, known as the "Phoney War" or "Sitzkrieg." Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members—he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

On September 1, 1939, the ''Wehrmacht'' started its invasion of Poland, a country that Britain and France had promised to defend. Chamberlain issued an ultimatum for the Germans withdraw their forces immediately, or face war. On the deadline date of September 3, no withdrawal was imminent, and so Britain formally declared war, soon followed by France and the Commonwealth countries. Unfortunately, a surprise invasion by the USSR meant that the Polish campaign was over in less than a month. The Allies and Germans then faced several months of non-combat, known as the "Phoney War" or "Sitzkrieg." Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members—he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members—he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

Born Arthur Neville Chamberlain on 18 March 1869 in the Edgbaston district of [[UsefulNotes/TheWestMidlands Birmingham]]. Died on 9 November 1940 in Highfield Park, in Heckfield (village), [[UsefulNotes/HomeCounties Hampshire]] from bowel cancer.

* In the Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration novel ''Before Dishonor'', a Federation diplomat attempts to negotiate with the Borg--and comes back declaring that "There will be peace in our time." Then the Borg blow his ship out of space.

Chamberlain's history in the modern media almost [[NeverLiveItDown begins and ends with the "peace in our time" quote]].[[note]][[BeamMeUpScotty Which was actually "peace for our time]]".[[/note]] He became Prime Minister of the UK, signed the Munich Agreement with UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, declared there would be 'peace for our time', [[HeadInTheSandManagement stuck his head in the sand]] and ignored Hitler's aggression, and then had to resign after [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo declaring war on Germany for her declaration of war upon Poland.]]

The most important factor in his decision not to risk war was undoubtedly his (correct) judgement that the British and particularly French public would not support war if he had been seen to reject diplomacy. A big part of the popular support behind the later [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo coup by Marshal Pétain and Admiral Darlan]], and the complete absence of any [[LaResistance French partisan movements]] until 1943, was a widespread belief that Britain had selfishly dragged France into a war that wasn't in her interests. The USSR's rhetorical willingness to defend Czechoslovakia's sovereignty would not have translated into a Soviet–German war either, as the military dictatorship of Poland[[note]]Poland having already fought the UsefulNotes/PolishSovietWar of 1919-21 and had little trust in Stalin[[/note]] would ''never'' have given their greatest enemy military access.

Munich was also not a clear-cut example of NSDAP-German aggression or expansionism - the ethnic Germans of Bohemia-Moravia had consistently voted for extremist nationalist parties (Communist or Fascist) who had advocated independence or political union with Germany in every general election since the country's formation in the aftermath of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne. The demands for Polish territory in 1939 were very different as The World had had a very dramatic insight into Hitler's actual and astonishingly radical agenda (re: the annexation of Bohemia-Moravia and the subjugation of Slovakia).

On a final note, while Germany was far more unprepared for war than The Allies in 1938 Chamberlain was quite right to think—thanks in large part to the advice of UsefulNotes/StanleyBaldwin—that The Allies' material advantage would only increase over time, and that Britain would in any case need at least two years of all-out armament ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne as she had last time, in 1916]]) before she would be able to field armies of comparable size to those of France and Germany. In fact, [[GenreSavvy by 1935, he had already realized Hitler was a danger to European peace]] and advocated strengthening the Royal Air Force, and immediately after Munich he commenced such a program of rearmament. The very first thing he did on his return was meet with representatives of various industries to get them to ready for war; many factory workers did their first overtime ever in the weeks following the Munich treaty to meet the government's new orders. Whether this was the "right" thing to do or not (given France's poor [[StrategyVersusTactics operational-level]] performance against German forces in 1940, something greater German unpreparedness could have rendered moot) is still a matter of historical debate, though the wisdom of his decision at the time should be quite apparent from what we've brought up so far (for your browsing pleasure).

That's good enough for high school history, but there's a lot more to him - and his decisions - than that. For a start, while he was a member of the Conservative Party, he was not really a Conservative. He described himself as a Unionist, referencing the defunct [[PoliticalIdeologies Liberal]] Unionist party his father had been in.

That's good enough for highschool history, but there's a lot more to him - and his decisions - than that. For a start, whilst he was a member of the Conservative party he was not really a Conservative. He described himself as a Unionist, referencing the defunct [[PoliticalIdeologies Liberal]] Unionist party his father had been in.

Whilst his quote is mostly recalled for its ironic value, Chamberlain was neither naive nor stupid. 'Appeasement' was the ''only'' politically-acceptable option, and [[PresidentEvil Hitler's megalomania]] was not apparent [[VillainWithGoodPublicity thanks to his meticulous management of his public image]]. Though he publicly proclaimed that the move would avert war, he started Britain's programme of re-armament just to be on the safe side. His wisdom and foresight paid off when he was forced to declare war upon Germany in aid of Poland in September 1939... and the public rallied behind him and a war [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption they then understood was inevitable]] [[note]] French public opinion, on the other hand, was [[{{Foreshadowing}} at least partly of the opinion that Poland was none of their business]] [[/note]].

The most important factor in his decision not to risk war was undoubtedly his (correct) judgement that the British and particularly French public would not support war if he had been seen to reject diplomacy. A big part of the popular support behind the later [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo coup by Marshall Petain and Admiral Darlan]], and the complete absence of any [[LaResistance French partisan movements]] until 1943, was a widespread belief that Britain had selfishly dragged France into a war that wasn't in her interests. The USSR's rhetorical willingness to defend Czechoslovakia's sovereignty would not have translated into a Soviet-German war either, as the military dictatorship of Poland[[note]]Poland having already fought the UsefulNotes/PolishSovietWar of 1919-21 and had little trust in Stalin[[/note]] would ''never'' have given their greatest enemy military access.

On a final note, while Germany was far more unprepared for war than The Allies in 1938 Chamberlain was quite right to think - thanks in large part to the advice of UsefulNotes/StanleyBaldwin - that The Allies' material advantage would only increase over time, and that Britain would in any case need at least two years of all-out armament ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne as she had last time, in 1916]]) before she would be able to field armies of comparable size to those of France and Germany. In fact, [[GenreSavvy by 1935 he had already realized Hitler was a danger to European peace]] and advocated strengthening the Royal Air Force, and immediately after Munich he commenced such a program of rearmament. The very first thing he did on his return was meet with representatives of various industries to get them to ready for war; many factory workers did their first overtime ever in the weeks following the Munich treaty to meet the government's new orders. Whether this was the 'right' thing to do or not (given France's poor Operational-level performance against German forces in 1940, something greater German un-preparedness could have rendered moot) is still a matter of historical debate, though the wisdom of his decision at the time should be quite apparent from what we've brought up so far (for your browsing-pleasure).

There was also the matter that the UK didn't want to go to war if it could avoid it at all - a war over the Czech Germans wouldn't have just [[YesMinister been controversial]], it would have been ''deeply'' unpopular if not unjustifiable to the French leadership and public. Chamberlain wasn't the only Allied leader at Munich, it must be remembered - Prime Minister Édouard Daladier also approved of negotiation for the same reasons. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI had killed a million each of both countries' best and brightest young men, and even though their reserves of trained manpower had been replenished (and stood at nearly a dozen times that of Germany's) the psychological aversion to warfare hadn't. The anti-war stance was the one which best represented public opinion at the time, the Munich Agreement being generally popular in Britain and France with {{UsefulNotes/Winston Churchill}} being the most famous of a mere handful of dissenters. A Mass Observation poll of the time put public approval for Munich at about 60% and opposition at 30%, the rest being undecided.

Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). It also helps that Chamberlain did not have very good relations with a number of Parliament members - he just wasn't a very sociable person, though only a few actively despised him. Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

There was also the matter that the UK didn't want to go to war if it could avoid it at all - a war over the Czech Germans wouldn't have just [[YesMinister been controversial]], it would have been ''deeply'' unpopular if not unjustifiable to the French leadership and public. Chamberlain wasn't the only Allied leader at Munich, it must be remembered - Prime Minister Édouard Daladier also approved of negotiation for the same reasons. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI had killed a million each of both countries' best and brightest young men, and even though their reserves of trained manpower had been replenished (and stood at nearly a dozen times that of Germany's) the psychological aversion to warfare hadn't. The anti-war stance was the one which best represented public opinion at the time, the Munich Agreement being wildly popular in Britain and France with {{UsefulNotes/Winston Churchill}} being the most famous of a mere handful of dissenters.

Born Arthur Neville Chamberlain on 18 March 1869 in the Edgbaston district of [[SweetHomeMidlands Birmingham]]. Died on 9 November 1940 in Highfield Park, in Heckfield (village), [[UsefulNotes/HomeCounties Hampshire]] from bowel cancer.

Chamberlain's history in the modern media almost [[NeverLiveItDown begins and ends with the "peace in our time" quote]].[[note]][[BeamMeUpScotty Which was actually "peace for our time]]".[[/note]] He became Prime Minister of the UK, signed the Munich Agreement with UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, declared there would be 'peace for our time', [[HeadInTheSandManagement stuck his head in the sand]] and ignored Hitler's aggression, and then had to resign when Hitler [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII declared war on Europe.]]

There was also the matter that the UK didn't want to go to war if it could avoid it at all - a war over the Czech Germans wouldn't have just [[YesMinister been controversial]], it would have been ''deeply'' unpopular if not unjustifiable to the French leadership and public. Chamberlain wasn't the only Allied leader at Munich, it must be remembered - President Édouard Daladier also approved of negotiation for the same reasons. UsefulNotes/WorldWarI had killed a million each of both countries' best and brightest young men, and even though their reserves of trained manpower had been replenished (and stood at nearly a dozen times that of Germany's) the psychological aversion to warfare hadn't. The anti-war stance was the one which best represented public opinion at the time, the Munich Agreement being wildly popular in Britain and France with {{UsefulNotes/Winston Churchill}} being the most famous of a mere handful of dissenters.

You will have noticed that thus far this page has been primarily concerned with Chamberlain's ''foreign'' policy. This would have greatly annoyed him. Neville Chamberlain was first and foremost a domestic politician, viewing his Prime Ministership as the jewel in the crown of a domestic reformer and a tireless campaigner for social issues. His premiership saw the passing of: the Factories Act of 1937 placing limits on the working hours of women and children; the Holidays with Pay Act of 1938, giving workers ten days paid holiday a year; the Coal Act of 1938, (kind of) nationalizing the coal industry; the Housing Act 1938, introducing slum clearance and rent control; and several other measures aimed at alleviating poverty and want in the UK. Sadly, most had to be shelved due to the outbreak of the war; two other policies he wanted to push through but couldn't due to the war were a reform of local government procedures and raising the school-leaving age to 15. Unlike the (very) aristocratic Churchill, Chamberlain's father (Joseph Chamberlain, himself a very influential politician) was a self-made businessman, Unitarian, and keen radical reformer who passed his passion for improvement down to his son. Notably, Chamberlain was more fondly remembered by the British working classes than Churchill, who was hated by many (even after the war) for his suggestion that tanks be deployed against strikers. [[HeAlsoDid He also]] oversaw the first significant improvement in relations between [[TheTroubles the UK and Ireland]] since Irish independence in 1922.

On a final note, while Germany was far more unprepared for war than The Allies in 1938 Chamberlain was quite right to think - thanks in large part to the advice of UsefulNotes/StanleyBaldwin - that The Allies' material advantage would only increase over time, and that Britain would in any case need at least two years of all-out armament ([[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne as she had last time, in 1916]]) before she would be able to field armies of comparable size to those of France and Germany. In fact, immediately after signing the treaty he commenced a program of rearmament just in case war should happen anyway, with a special focus on the RAF. The very first thing he did on his return was meet with representatives of various industries to get them to ready for war; many factory workers did their first overtime ever in the weeks following the Munich treaty to meet the government's new orders. Whether this was the 'right' thing to do or not (given France's poor Operational-level performance against German forces in 1940, something greater German un-preparedness could have rendered moot) is still a matter of historical debate, though the wisdom of his decision at the time should be quite apparent from what we've brought up so far (for your browsing-pleasure).

Following the fall of Norway, Chamberlain faced an extremely stormy debate on the whole issue in the House of Commons and calls for his resignation. The Government won, but only with a majority of 31, which Chamberlain felt was enough for him to resign, with Churchill taking over on 10 May 1940 (the day the Germans started their long-anticipated invasion of France). Chamberlain remained a respected member of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and had a key role in forming the Special Operations Executive until his death from cancer six months afterwards.

You will have noticed that thus far this page has been primarily concerned with Chamberlain's ''foreign'' policy. This would have greatly annoyed him. Neville Chamberlain was first and foremost a domestic politician, viewing his Prime Ministership as the jewel in the crown of a domestic reformer and a tireless campaigner for social issues. His premiership saw the passing of: the Factories Act of 1937 placing limits on the working hours of women and children; the Holidays with Pay Act of 1938, giving workers ten days paid holiday a year; the Coal Act of 1938, nationalizing the coal industry; the Housing Act 1938, introducing slum clearance and rent control; and several other measures aimed at alleviating poverty and want in the UK. Sadly, most had to be shelved due to the outbreak of the war; two other policies he wanted to push through but couldn't due to the war were a reform of local government procedures and raising the school-leaving age to 15. Unlike the (very) aristocratic Churchill, Chamberlain's father (Joseph Chamberlain, himself a very influential politician) was a self-made businessman, Unitarian, and keen radical reformer who passed his passion for improvement down to his son. Notably, Chamberlain was more fondly remembered by the British working classes than Churchill, who was hated by many (even after the war) for his suggestion that tanks be deployed against strikers. [[HeAlsoDid He also]] oversaw the first significant improvement in relations between [[TheTroubles the UK and Ireland]] since Irish independence in 1922.

You will have noticed that thus far this page has been primarily concerned with Chamberlain's ''foreign'' policy. This would have greatly annoyed him. Neville Chamberlain was first and foremost a domestic politician, viewing his Prime Ministership as the jewel in the crown of a domestic reformer and a tireless campaigner for social issues. His premiership saw the passing of: the Factories Act of 1937 placing limits on the working hours of women and children; the Holidays with Pay Act of 1938, giving workers ten days paid holiday a year; the Coal Act of 1938, nationalizing the coal industry; the Housing Act 1938, introducing slum clearance and rent control; and several other measures aimed at alleviating poverty and want in the UK. Sadly, most had to be shelved due to the outbreak of the war. Unlike the (very) aristocratic Churchill, Chamberlain's father (Joseph Chamberlain, himself a very influential politician) was a self-made businessman, Unitarian, and keen radical reformer who passed his passion for improvement down to his son. Notably, Chamberlain was more fondly remembered by the British working classes than Churchill, who was hated by many (even after the war) for his suggestion that tanks be deployed against strikers. [[HeAlsoDid He also]] oversaw the first significant improvement in relations between [[TheTroubles the UK and Ireland]] since Irish independence in 1922.

You will have noticed that thus far this page has been primarily concerned with Chamberlain's ''foreign'' policy. This would have greatly annoyed him. Neville Chamberlain was first and foremost a domestic politician, viewing his Prime Ministership as the jewel in the crown of a domestic reformer and a tireless campaigner for social issues. His premiership saw the passing of: the Factories Act of 1937 placing limits on the working hours of women and children; the Holidays with Pay Act of 1938, giving workers ten days paid holiday a year; the Coal Act of 1938, nationalizing the coal industry; the Housing Act 1938, introducing slum clearance and rent control; and several other measures aimed at alleviating poverty and want in the UK. Sadly, most had to be shelved due to the outbreak of the war. Unlike the (very) aristocratic Churchill, Chamberlain's father (Joseph Chamberlain, himself a very influential politician) was a self-made businessman, Unitarian, and keen radical reformer who passed his passion for improvement down to his son. Notably, Chamberlain was more fondly remembered by the British working classes than Churchill, who was hated by many (even after the war) for his suggestion that tanks be deployed against strikers.

Chamberlain's history in the modern media almost [[NeverLiveItDown begins and ends with the "peace in our time" quote]].[[note]][[BeamMeUpScotty Which was actually "peace for our time]]".[[/note]] He became Prime Minister of the UK, signed the Munich Agreement with AdolfHitler, declared there would be 'peace for our time', [[HeadInTheSandManagement stuck his head in the sand]] and ignored Hitler's aggression, and then had to resign when Hitler [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII declared war on Europe.]]

The most important factor in his decision not to risk war was undoubtedly his (correct) judgement that the British and particularly French public would not support war if he had been seen to reject diplomacy. A big part of the popular support behind the later [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo coup by Marshall Petain and Admiral Darlan]], and the complete absence of any [[LaResistance French partisan movements]] until 1943, was a widespread belief that Britain had selfishly dragged France into a war that wasn't in her interests. The USSR's rhetorical willingness to defend Czechoslovakia's sovereignty would not have translated into a Soviet-German war either, as the paranoid military dictatorship of Poland[[note]] formerly headed by Marshall Pilsudski, who had come to power in the UsefulNotes/PolishSovietWar of 1919-21 in which Poland had conquered her extensive Belorussian+Ukrainian territories, but now under a Junta of his former followers and allies[[/note]] would ''never'' have given their greatest enemy military access.

Munich was also not a clear-cut example of NSDAP-German aggression or expansionism - the ethnic Germans of Bohemia-Moravia had consistently voted for extremist nationalist parties (Communist or Fascist) who had advocated independence or political union with Germany in every general election since the country's formation in the aftermath of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne. The demands for Polish territory in 1939 were very different as The World had had a very dramatic insight into Hitler's actual and astonishingly radical agenda (re: the annexation of Bohemia-Moravia and the subjugation of Slovakia) and Polish ethnic-cleansing in the 1920s-30s had rendered the those areas devoid of ethnic Germans.

It's worth noting that the Germans were well aware of this strategic imbalance as well, with German generals were so petrified of war in the fall of 1938 that they were on the verge of mounting a coup against Hitler before Chamberlain's agreement made that unnecessary. The Czechs, incidentally, see Chamberlain as one of the great traitors of history, calling his agreement the "Munich Betrayal", as it was their nation-state that was handed over to Hitler without them even being represented at the negotiations.

The most important factor in his decision not to risk war was undoubtedly his (correct) judgement that the British and particularly French public would not support war if he had been seen to reject diplomacy. A big part of the popular support behind the later [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo coup by Marshall Petain and Admiral Darlan]], and the complete absence of any [[LaResistance French partisan movements]] until 1943, was a widespread belief that Britain had selfishly dragged France into a war that wasn't in her interests. The USSR's rhetorical willingness to defend Czechoslovakia's sovereignty would not have translated into a Soviet-German war either, as the paranoid military dictatorship of Poland[[note]] formerly headed by Marshall Pilsudski, who had come to power in the {{UsefulNotes/PolishSovietWar}} of 1919-21 in which Poland had conquered her extensive Belorussian+Ukrainian territories, but now under a Junta of his former followers and allies[[/note]] would ''never'' have given their greatest enemy military access.

The most important factor in his decision not to risk war was undoubtedly his (correct) judgement that the British and particularly French public would not support war if he had been seen to reject diplomacy. A big part of the popular support behind the later [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo coup by Marshall Petain and Admiral Darlan]], and the complete absence of any [[LaResistance French partisan movements]] until 1943, was a widespread belief that Britain had selfishly dragged France into a war that wasn't in her interests. The USSR's rhetorical willingness to defend Czechoslovakia's sovereignty would not have translated into a Soviet-German war either, as the paranoid military dictatorship of Poland[[note]] formerly headed by Marshall Pilsudski, who had come to power in the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-21 in which Poland had conquered her extensive Belorussian+Ukrainian territories, but now under a Junta of his former followers and allies[[/note]] would ''never'' have given their greatest enemy military access.

!NevilleChamberlain in fiction: