Facing the Führer : the Conservative Party's attitudes and responses to Germany, 1937 to 1940, with particular reference to backbench and constituency opinion
Facing the Führer : the Conservative Party's attitudes and responses to Germany, 1937 to 1940, with particular reference to backbench and constituency opinion
This thesis concerns the Conservative Party's responses to the deepening crisis in Anglo-German relations during the premiership of Neville Chamberlain from May 1937 to May 1940. Based upon the private correspondence of Conservative MPs, peers and officials and an extensive survey of the surviving regional and constituency Conservative Party records this study is a survey of how the whole of the Party responded to Chamberlain's defence and foreign policies. Such a methodological approach enables one to hurdle the Party's wall of silence and provide a more balanced and nuanced appraisal not previously possible.
The historiography of appeasement has been exclusively concerned with 'elite' history. This study removes that vacuum and reveals the nature and importance of the interaction between the centre and the constituencies and enables a fuller appreciation of the dynamics of the British political system.
The opening chapter considers the different categories of attitude towards Germany that existed amongst Conservatives during the period, whilst also assessing the factors that influenced them.
The second chapter examines the response to Chamberlain's German foreign policy between 1937 and 1939.
Chapters three and four consider the Conservatives' military response to the German threat, firstly assessing the Party's attitude to the rearmament programme during the years 1937 and 1938, and secondly explaining its receptivity to the issue of national service.
The final chapter will examine the prosecution of the war during the period of the phoney war and explain the Conservative grievances that contributed to the Norway parliamentary revolt on 9 May 1940.
University of Southampton
Crowson, Nicholas Julian
44528e2c-44b0-4199-a11a-2322f9cdfefb
1994
Crowson, Nicholas Julian
44528e2c-44b0-4199-a11a-2322f9cdfefb
Crowson, Nicholas Julian
(1994)
Facing the Führer : the Conservative Party's attitudes and responses to Germany, 1937 to 1940, with particular reference to backbench and constituency opinion.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This thesis concerns the Conservative Party's responses to the deepening crisis in Anglo-German relations during the premiership of Neville Chamberlain from May 1937 to May 1940. Based upon the private correspondence of Conservative MPs, peers and officials and an extensive survey of the surviving regional and constituency Conservative Party records this study is a survey of how the whole of the Party responded to Chamberlain's defence and foreign policies. Such a methodological approach enables one to hurdle the Party's wall of silence and provide a more balanced and nuanced appraisal not previously possible.
The historiography of appeasement has been exclusively concerned with 'elite' history. This study removes that vacuum and reveals the nature and importance of the interaction between the centre and the constituencies and enables a fuller appreciation of the dynamics of the British political system.
The opening chapter considers the different categories of attitude towards Germany that existed amongst Conservatives during the period, whilst also assessing the factors that influenced them.
The second chapter examines the response to Chamberlain's German foreign policy between 1937 and 1939.
Chapters three and four consider the Conservatives' military response to the German threat, firstly assessing the Party's attitude to the rearmament programme during the years 1937 and 1938, and secondly explaining its receptivity to the issue of national service.
The final chapter will examine the prosecution of the war during the period of the phoney war and explain the Conservative grievances that contributed to the Norway parliamentary revolt on 9 May 1940.
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Published date: 1994
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Local EPrints ID: 458554
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/458554
PURE UUID: 6cb17fa8-004f-406d-9c5e-9c5df5008477
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 16:51
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 18:23
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Author:
Nicholas Julian Crowson
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