Appeasement of the Axis powers in the 1930s was a failed policy and perhaps hastened World War II, a conflict it was meant to avoid. The term appeasement was never actually defined clearly in the 1930s and may have meant subtly different things to the politicians who either espoused or criticized it at the time. The term is now generally conceded to mean, however, the policy of attempting to accommodate and conciliate the dictators in Germany and Italy for their perceived grievances stemming from the treatment their countries received under the Versailles Treaty (1919).

Following World War I, the League of Nations was established to ensure peace in the world. The League’s ability to keep the peace was, however, damaged from the start by the