Chamberlain and the Lost Peace

"As Hitler proceeded on his way, he made offers of mutual disarmament to the other powers: was this merely the smile on the face of the tiger? Was Hitler the portent of a new war, or merely a sign that the work of Versailles needed recasting? Chamberlain saw no gains for Britain in another war, and despite the pious assumptions of British historians, it is by no means clear that the results of the Second World War were commensurate with the sacrifices it entailed. The old balance between the fascist and communist powers on the continent was tipped decidedly in favor of the latter, while the economic and diplomatic foundations of the British Empire received a mortal blow; nor was the lot of the Poles, on whose behalf war was declared, improved. The world was handed over to a Manichean struggle between America and Russia...."