Public Opinion and Appeasement in 1938

Public opinion and appeasement played a huge role in the events that occurred ahead of the start of World War Two. The most notable display of this was the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was cheered by crowds upon his return from Munich in 1939 with the ‘scrap of paper’.

The paper held by Chamberlain was an agreement signed by the Prime Minister and German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, stating that there would not be war between the two countries due to a mutual appeasement. Some argue that this was desired only by the government, rather than by the British public, but there is evidence that the public backed his appeasement policy. In fact, figures from 1938 make it clear that nobody wanted war, and that his return with "peace for our time" was widely celebrated.

This was clearly highlighted in the Oxford City by-election in October 1938. The constituency offered voters two main candidates, including A.D. Lindsay who opposed appeasement and Quintin Hogg who backed Chamberlain's policy. Hogg won the election with 15,797 votes to Lindsay's 12,363. The by-election was considered a referendum of Chamberlain's actions, having taken place just one months after the Munich Agreement and the result is taken as an indication that the British public were also pro-appeasement.