Final answer:
The policy of appeasement allowed Hitler to annex several regions without opposition, signaling Allied weakness and emboldening his aggression, which led directly to World War II. The Munich Agreement epitomized this flawed approach, which Churchill derided, leading to war despite the wish for peace.
Step-by-step explanation:
The policy of appeasement was a significant error for Britain and France in dealing with Hitler's Germany. During the lead-up to World War II, rather than confronting Nazi aggression directly, Britain and France chose a policy of concession, hoping to avoid renewal of the devastating conflict they experienced in World War I. This policy was viewed as preserving peace, yet in reality, it only emboldened Hitler, convincing him of the Allies' weakness and reluctance to engage in conflict.
Appeasement allowed Hitler to remilitarize the Rhineland, annex Austria in the Anschluss, and claim the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia, without facing military resistance from Britain or France. The Munich Agreement, which was supposed to bring "peace for our time" according to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, was a hallmark of appeasement and only delayed the inevitable. Hitler's continued aggression violated the agreement, leading directly to the outbreak of World War II.
Appeasement failed because it underestimated Hitler's ambitions and overestimated the effectiveness of concessions without enforcement. Winston Churchill criticized the Munich Pact, famously stating that the choice had been between war and dishonor. Despite Chamberlain's hopes, by allowing territorial expansion and military growth, the policy of appeasement only assured the onset of war, not peace. The era of appeasement thus represents a period of miscalculation and misjudgment, which significantly contributed to the beginning of World War II.