Question

Why did the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the French Prime Minister sign the Munich Agreement?

Answer 1

The Munich Agreement was signed by British and French prime ministers to avert a potential war and under the misguided hope that appeasement would satisfy Hitler's expansionist ambitions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the French Prime Minister signed the Munich Agreement chiefly to avoid another major war. In September 1938, amid escalating tensions due to Adolf Hitler's expansionist policies, Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier, along with Italian leader Benito Mussolini, agreed to allow Germany to annex certain areas of Czechoslovakia, specifically the Sudetenland where ethnic Germans resided.

This decision was based on the principle of appeasement, with the Western powers hoping to satisfy Hitler's demands and thus secure peace in our time, as famously stated by Chamberlain. Ultimately, their aims were twofold: to prevent the imminent outbreak of war and to avoid the appearance of hypocrisy, given their own imperialist histories. However, this policy of appeasement is now widely criticized for emboldening Hitler and failing to prevent World War II.

Answer 2

Answer is below

Step-by-step explanation:

Both of the Prime Ministers wanted to avoid war at all costs. This is because they just got out of the Great Depression and didn't want to go in debt even more. Also, Hitler told them that this would be his "last territorial demand."