Book Description

Interwar Europe was largely impacted by three major events: World War I and the postwar Treaty of Versailles, the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Great Depression. The British Empire, like the rest of Europe, had to find a way to pay its war debts, prevent the spread of communism, and fix the depressed economy. Britain came out of the period without falling to an extremist, authoritarian government that threatened the peace in Europe. During the late interwar period, three men contributed to the successful British war effort that eventually helped save Europe from Hitler and the Nazis. Winston Churchill is the most visible figure because he was the wartime prime minister who accurately predicted the aggressive nature of Germany's Nazi regime, establishing the Grand Alliance that had eluded his predecessor. John Maynard Keynes helped identify faults in the Versailles Treaty that would be rectified at the end of World War II, and he also helped the British economy survive the war. Though highly criticized for the British policy of appeasement, prime minister Neville Chamberlain rearmed the country and removed Britain from the gold standard in order to successfully revive the economy during the Great Depression. All three of these men made mistakes during this period as well, but only Chamberlain's name was tarnished as a result. Though Keynes and his economic theory do not appeal to everyone, he is still esteemed as a brilliant economist. Churchill caused the starvation death of three million Indian citizens yet is still celebrated as the savior of Europe. Chamberlain is saddled with the misconception that he failed to stand up to Hitler, making a war inevitable, despite his work mitigating the damage the Great Depression inflicted on the British economy. There is much more to the history of this period. This thesis compares the accomplishments and the mistakes of these three prominent British men and argues for a more balanced view of their contributions to the war effort as well as the postwar settlement.