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Neville Chamberlain Facts & Worksheets

Neville Chamberlain was Britain's Prime Minister, popularly known for the policy of "appeasement" during WWII.

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Arthur Neville Chamberlain served as British prime minister in the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940. He is popularly known for the policy of “appeasement,” known as the Munich Agreement, which he signed with Adolf Hitler in 1938, now discredited as a policy of weakness.

See the fact file below for more information on Neville Chamberlain, or you can download our 31-page Neville Chamberlain worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Family

  • Neville Chamberlain was the only son of Joseph Chamberlain, a statesman, and Florence Kenrick. He was born in Birmingham, England, on March 18, 1869.
  • The Chamberlains were known as a political dynasty in Birmingham. His father, Joseph Chamberlain, was one of the most prominent figures during the reign of Queen Victoria. He became the Mayor of Birmingham and a Member of Parliament but didn’t become Prime Minister. While his half-brother, Sir Austen, was popularly known as a statesman who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Joseph had six children, being married twice. Beatrice and Austen were children from his first marriage; Neville, and three daughters, Ethel, Ida, and Hilda, from his second wife.
  • The Chamberlain family was unitarian. While Neville described himself as a unitarian and a “reverent agnostic.”

Early Life and Political Career

  • Young Neville was educated at home by his older sister Beatrice and later went to Rugby School. His father sent him to Mason College (University of Birmingham).
  • In 1889, his father apprenticed him at a firm of accountants, and he became a salaried employee after six months.
  • At age 21, his father sent him to the Andros Islands in the Bahamas to establish a sisal plantation. Neville spent six years there, but it was a failure. Joseph lost £50,000, but Neville gained a reputation for being a hands-on manager.
  • Neville entered a business on his return to England and purchased Hoskins & Company. A manufacturing company of Metal Ship Berths. He became the Managing Director of Hoskins for 17 years which became successful.
  • He was elected as Councilor in 1911 and chosen as the Lord Mayor of Birmingham in 1915, where he organized a municipal bank in 1916.
  • After a year, he joined David Lloyd George’s World War I coalition government as Director General of national service. He resigned in August 1917 due to his lack of power and a personal bitterness between the two.
  • Following his father and half-brother, he joined the 1918 parliamentary elections. Neville became a Conservative member of the House of Commons in December 1918.
  • Declining a position under Lloyd George’s coalition government in 1918, he spent his years from 1922 to 1923 as Postmaster General under Andrew Bonar Law.
  • In 1923, he served as Paymaster General in the armed forces; before being promoted to Minister of Health and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
  • He returned as Minister of Health following a brief labor-led government in 1924.
  • In 1931, he was named Chancellor of the Exchequer in the National Government until 1937. On May 28, 1937, he succeeded his colleague Stanley Baldwin as Prime Minister after being promoted.
  • The British Expedition failed in Norway in April 1940, costing him the support of many Conservatives in the House of Commons. Due to the lack of support, he resigned the same day the Germans invaded the Low Countries. 
  • Winston Churchill, Neville’s foremost critic, succeeded him as Prime Minister. Churchill was known to serve under his war cabinet during the ‘Phony War,’ the early part of the war when there was little action. 
  • Under Churchill’s coalition government, he served as the Lord President of the Council until September 30, 1940. But bowel cancer struck Chamberlain soon after his resignation as Prime Minister, forcing him to resign again under Churchill’s coalition.

Appeasement

  • Britain’s foreign policy in the 1930s was intended to avoid war in a territorial dispute between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It also allowed Hitler to expand German territory unchecked. Due to this policy, Great Britain took no action against Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia and Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938.
  • The Treaty of Versailles left Germany in ruins because of the “War Guilt Clause” or Article 231. These fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party. As a result, Germany continuously expanded, and Germany became better defended by adding its raw materials, weapons, soldiers, and industries. Because of these, the European leaders adopted the appeasement policy to avoid potential war with the aggressive leader Adolf Hitler. The guilt of the Allies in imposing harsh terms on Germany resulted in a reluctance to enforce those terms. Thus, leaving Europe with no powerful international body that could act to punish German aggression after the League of Nations failed in WWI.
  • In 1938, the appeasement policy faced its most significant challenge with the Sudeten Crisis.
  • The appeasement policy is synonymous with Neville Chamberlain because of his association with the Munich Agreement, an example of appeasement.
  • When he came to power, Hitler wanted to unite all Germans into one nation. He was willing to go to war to fulfill his aim of territorial expansion. 
  • Hitler shifted his attention to the Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia populated by three million Germans, in 1938. Czechoslovakia is a newly constituted country based on national self-determination under the Versailles Treaty.
  • Following the First World War, the redrawn map of Europe formed many new countries. As a result, many native Germans ended up in Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland. The Nazispushed nationalistic Germans to demand a return to Germany, causing Sudeten Germans to start rallies and incite violence against the Czech police. Hitler then claimed that 300 Germans were killed in the protest. He used this as justification to station German troops on the Czech border.
  • Hitler used the Versailles Treaty’s terms against the Treaty’s authors. According to him, a group of perpetrators divided 3,500,000 Germans from their fellow people. He and his associates contended that perpetrators oppressed the Germans and that Sudetenland had to be returned to Germany by the principles of national self-determination. He also made it clear to Europe that he intended to attack Czechoslovakia for the defense of its people.

The Munich Agreement

  • On September 15, 1938, Prime Minister Chamberlain traveled to Munich to “achieve peace.”
  • Chamberlain took a firm position against Hitler after listening to his difficulties and grievances. Hitler agreed to postpone military action if Chamberlain proposed a solution to the situation. While Italian leader Mussolini and Hitler’s entourage also advised him to avoid war.
  • On September 29, 1938, Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Daladier, and Mussolini reached a final agreement to surrender the Czechoslovakian border to Nazi Germany. Czechoslovakian leaders were neither present nor consulted. However, it was indicated that if they refused the terms, they would receive no help if attacked.
  • The Munich Agreement, which Chamberlain and Hitler signed on September 30, 1938, proclaimed that Czechs would give the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. France and Italy also agreed to the agreement. 
  • When Chamberlain arrived in England, believing he had avoided the war, he declared “peace for our time” to the crowd as he waved a paper signed by him and Hitler.
  • In March 1939, Hitler occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia, violating the Munich Agreement.

The Beginning of World War II

  • Outmaneuvered into agreeing to a peaceful settlement, Hitler was humiliated by the appeasement (Munich Pact). It drove him to invade Poland six months after occupying Czechoslovakia.
  • Germany ended the appeasement policy by invading Poland in 1939, which led Britain and France to declare war. 
  • Two days after the invasion, Chamberlain issued the declaration of war. He led the United Kingdom through the first eight months of the war before stepping down as Prime Minister on May 10, 1940.

Domestic Policies

  • Minister of Health (1923; 1924-1929) – Chamberlain advocated for the Poor Law Boards of Guardians, which administered aid in some regions responsible for rates. He introduced the Local Government Act 1929 to abolish the Poor Law boards altogether. He spoke in the Commons for two hours in the second reading of the bill, and all parties applauded him. His legislation was passed into law.
  • He introduced significant reforms in housing programs, pensions, insurance legislation, and new engineering industries. 
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer (1931-1937) – Chamberlain advocated a 10% tariff on imported goods and reduced or no taxes on items originating in the colonies and Dominions. While his father favored a similar idea known as “Imperial Preference,” Neville presented his bill and acknowledged the appropriateness of attempting to implement his father’s proposal. The parliament passed the Import Duties Act of 1932 by Chamberlain.
  • Factories Act of 1937 – This Act aims to improve factory working conditions by limiting the working hours of women and children.
  • The Coal Act 1938 – This act authorizes the nationalization of coal reserves.
  • Holidays with Pay Act of 1938 – Though it only advised that businesses give workers a week off with pay, it resulted in a significant increase in the number of vacation camps and other leisure facilities for the working classes.
  • The Housing Act of 1938 – gave subsidies to encourage slum clearance and kept rent control in place.
  • Because of the outbreak of war in 1939, the battle delayed Chamberlain’s ideas for local government reform. Similarly, the planned increase in the school-leaving age to 15 on September 1, 1939, did not take effect.

Legacy & Death

  • The Munich Pact has become synonymous with the “appeasement policy,” and the failure of appeasement made it the “policy of weakness.”
  • Germany and Italy combined were twice as strong in their air forces as Britain and France. Although the appeasement failed, Chamberlain’s agreement gave the British military valuable time to prepare and defeat Hitler. 
  • In October 1940, as he lay dying, he received a letter from one of his Cabinet colleagues congratulating him for doing more than any other man alive to improve the lives of the poor. He was declared the Conservative Party’s greatest social reformer in history.
  • After his illness forced his resignation in October 1940, he gathered his strength and on his deathbed whispered, “approaching dissolution brings relief.”  
  • He died from cancer on November 9 at age 71 in the village of Heckfield, United Kingdom.

Neville Chamberlain Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Neville Chamberlain across 31 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Neville Chamberlain, who is Britain’s Prime Minister, popularly known for the policy of “appeasement” during WWII.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Neville Chamberlain Facts
  2. Memoir
  3. 4 Pics 1 Word
  4. Connections
  5. The Parliament
  6. Appeasement
  7. Sudeten Crisis
  8. Political Structure
  9. How WWII Started
  10. The Munich Pact
  11. Villain or Hero?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Neville Chamberlain best known for?

Neville Chamberlain was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940 and is most commonly known for his role in the Munich Agreement of 1938. Under this agreement, Czechoslovakia ceded parts to Hitler. There is much controversy surrounding this act as it set a precedent for future appeasement policies.

Why did Neville Chamberlain resign?

He was not able to create a national government by himself and resigned in May 1940 after the British attempts to liberate Norway failed. He soon got bowel cancer and had to step down from Winston Churchill’s coalition government.

What was the significance of Neville Chamberlain in World War Two?

Neville Chamberlain was the British prime minister from 1937 to 1940. His most famous policy was “appeasement.” This meant giving into Adolf Hitler’s demands in order to avoid war. For example, he signed the Munich Agreement in 1938, which allowed Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia. However, by 1939 it was clear that Britain would have to go to war with Germany. Chamberlain was removed from his position as prime minister.

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