The Churchill Society and the Yorkminster Park Speaker Series are pleased to present Western University Professor Neville Thompson

It is almost universally acknowledged that British foreign policy in the 1930s, commonly described as ‘appeasement’, was a disaster that produced the second world war. Winston Churchill was one of the few who insisted that not standing up to Nazi Germany by threatening armed force would lead to war.

But why was appeasement so supported by so many leaders in Britain, the dominions and elsewhere, including Mackenzie King, the prime minister of Canada?

What exactly was Churchill arguing and why was it rejected for so long?

Professor Thompson will explore these questions and other issues that Churchill had to deal with during the water itself, including threats of Italy and Japan entering the war and the territorial claims of the allied Soviet Union, with some reflections on appeasement and diplomacy more generally.