Munich, Public Opinion, and Popular Front

During the crisis of September I938 the Daily Sketch commented, 'For people of spirit there should be some satisfaction in the thought that present international events are not only of great import now, but will figure prominently in future history books.' The Daily Sketch's crystal ball served it well. The moves which led to the cession of the Sudetenland have been told and re-told by countless historians. The word 'Munich' no longer merely denotes a town in Germany; it has become a term symbolic of the failure of British foreign policy in the I930s. There were few, however, who did not share in the popular enthusiasm which the news of the conclusion of the agreement aroused at the time. The Times editorial for i October commented, 'No conqueror returning from victory on the battlefield has come home adorned with nobler laurels than Mr Chamberlain from Munich yesterday.' The Archbishop of Canterbury called for a national day of thanksgiving in British churches. Throughout the land a grateful people gathered in their places of worship on the Sunday following Munich. In a BBC broadcast on the evening of 2 October Cosmo Gordon Lang told of 'an old farmer in my own diocese who, pointing upwards to the wide heavens above Romney Marsh, said quietly, There's a God up there.' Divine sanction, however, did not prevent the free play of economic forces. Chamberlain dolls and sugar umbrellas were offered for sale. No evidence remains as to how well they sold; probably the dolls took their place beside mementos of Brighton Pier, the umbrellas suffering a less lasting fate. Contemporary rumour told of Cabinet Ministers who wished to hold a General Election to capitalise upon the nation's gratitude to Chamberlain

Art history · Enthusiasm · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · Victory · Worship · Yesterday · History · Law · Philosophy · Political and Economic history of UK and US

• Munich's Lessons Reconsidered

  Robert J Beck•International Security•1989

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• Labour, the Left, and the British General Election of 1945

  Open Access•Graham Mcculloch, Gary Mcculloch•Journal of British Studies•1985

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• Public Opinion between Munich and Prague

  Daniel Hucker•Contemporary British History•2011

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• From Whitehall after Munich

  Open Access•Donald Lammers•The Historical Journal•1973

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