Britain in the 20th Century: The Road to War - Professor Vernon Bogdanor

After the seeming success of the Munich Conference of 1938 it was hoped that war could be avoided. However, it gradually became clear that the territorial ambitions of Hitler could not be sated as he invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland, and Britain and France declared war in September 1939. Was Chamberlain personally culpable for war and did Britain consider suing for peace in 1940?
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[@conors4430]

Love these lectures. Some stuff in here I’ve never heard before. I do agree. Hitler wanted a war, sooner or later, he wanted a war. And secondly, Churchill gets mythologised way too much. Yes he was a massive figure, yes he was one of the leaders who won the war, but he gets romanticised as some civilised Hiro who only ever cared about humanity and the freedom of all people. First and foremost he cared about the British Empire and dominance and he cared about a civilising mission from a British point of view and really only cared about democracy and freedom and self-determination when it aligned with British interests because there’s plenty examples of him opposing it when it was against Britain’s interest.

[@robertewing3114]

Chamberlain at Heston hoping for the best rather than fearing the worst, a policy of appeasement you say, he really would be an amateur if that is true, and presumably did not go to university because he hadn't the brains to lead anyone. Whilst Winston, the university of Churchill, knew an ostrich when he saw one. We here at Chamberlain college, Oxford, disagree.

[@mikemidulster]

Professor Bogdanor's lectures are very enlightening and entertaining and he often reveals snippets of information from obscure sources which give a fuller picture of events. It is however disappointing that while he generally gives an unbiased view of history, he has fallen into the same trap as most historians and commentators when it comes to defining the regime which existed in the Soviet Union. When speaking about a possible pact between Poland and the USSR he cites, 'the Polish were strongly opposed to communism' . Where was this communism? The regime in the USSR in 1938 under J. Stalin was a bureaucratic pseudo-socialist dictatorship, communism as envisaged by the authors of the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels did not exist and has not existed anywhere on Earth.

[@bripat22]

Michael Craig A viewpoint held by the Trotskyists

[@kopeducati]

i say that of communism, we know nothing. As it hasn't been tried yet... perhaps we will know in 20 years. When we look at China...

[@johnries5593]

If we use the conventional definition of Communism as Marxism-Leninism as advocated and practiced by the Bolshevik Party and its descendants and allies since 1917, then yes, it has been tried.

[@StuartTheunissen]

'Wait that one doesn't count' - Marxists every time another socialist experiment fails

[@robertewing3114]

A child of six years, perceptive age, could tell us that Chamberlain did not wave the piece of paper at Heston, only you and a thousand others slur the statesman that he did. We know from his staff exactly what he meant and we know from newsreel exactly what he did, only you and a thousand others cannot respect him - you are not worth listening to, the child of six is. Education needs to evolve and institutions change, and the perception of Chamberlain will change, because the evidence exists and there are decent people who will react against slurs and relate the importance of resisting confusion.