Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain was a British politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement, which aimed to avoid war with Nazi Germany by making concessions and agreements. He signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, which gave Germany the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, and declared that he had achieved "peace for our time". However, his policy failed when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the outbreak of World War II. Chamberlain was born in Birmingham, England, on March 18, 1869. He was the son of Joseph Chamberlain, a prominent politician and businessman, and Florence Kenrick, his second wife. He was educated at Rugby School and Mason College, but had little interest in academics. He worked as an accountant and a businessman, managing his father's sisal plantation in the Bahamas and later a metal manufacturing company in Birmingham. He married Anne de Vere Cole in 1911 and had two children, Dorothy and Francis. Chamberlain entered politics in 1911, when he became a member of the Birmingham City Council. He was elected to Parliament in 1918 as a member of the Conservative Party. He held various ministerial positions, including Postmaster General, Minister of Health, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He became the leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister in 1937, succeeding Stanley Baldwin. As Prime Minister, Chamberlain faced the challenge of dealing with the rise of Nazi Germany and its aggressive expansionism in Europe. He pursued a policy of appeasement, believing that war could be avoided by satisfying Germany's demands and maintaining good relations with Adolf Hitler. He negotiated with Hitler several times, most notably at the Munich Conference in September 1938, where he agreed to let Germany annex the Sudetenland in exchange for Hitler's promise not to make any further territorial claims. Chamberlain returned to Britain with a signed agreement and announced that he had secured "peace for our time". However, his policy was widely criticized by many people, including Winston Churchill, who warned that appeasement would only encourage Hitler's aggression. Chamberlain's policy proved to be a failure when Germany violated the Munich Agreement and invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Chamberlain then changed his stance and pledged to support Poland if it was attacked by Germany. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Chamberlain declared war on Germany on September 3, marking the beginning of World War II. Chamberlain continued to lead the war effort until May 1940, when he resigned after losing the confidence of Parliament and the public following the German invasion of Norway. He was succeeded by Winston Churchill as Prime Minister. Chamberlain remained in Churchill's war cabinet as Lord President of the Council until October 1940. He died of bowel cancer on November 9, 1940, at his country home in Heckfield, Hampshire. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in London.