Why did Britain go to war with germany over Poland in September 1939 but not over
Before 1939, the British Government relied on a policy of Appeasement as an alternative to war because they were militarily and economically unprepared to go to war as a result of the great depression of 1929 and the ten-year rule. The policy was successful in avoiding war because the Prime Minister had been able to negotiate through talks with Hitler over territorial demands. The invasion of the remainder of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent invasion of Poland proved that Hitler wasn’t a man of his word, thus forcing a shift in public opinion as well the government’s tolerance of him.