Nov. 24, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: On Sept. 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain famously said, “I believe it is peace for our time” upon returning from Germany with the signed Munich Agreement. He believed he had prevented war by agreeing to Adolf Hitler’s demands to annex the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia. The agreement was a failure, and Hitler’s forces occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. This policy of appeasement was quickly proven wrong, as Germany invaded Poland less than a year later, starting World War II.
NowwehaveTrumpmaking a deal with Putin that basically does the same thing to the independent country of Ukraine. To highlight how history is about to repeat itself, try to remember back to 2008 when Russia invaded the country of Georgia. Then-President Obama and the EU, in order to appease Putin, they collectively allowed him to keep it. This was followed, in 2014, by the Russian invasion of Crimea, which Obama and the EU also allowed Putin to keep.
Does anyone see a pattern of behavior emerging here? Trump doesn’t. He’s currently recommending more of the same failed policies of Obama and Chamberlin.
Remember Chamberlin’s policies of appeasement lead directly to World War II. What do you think Trump’s policy will lead to? ROBERT B. TEXTOR Rockbridge Baths
