The Faulty Metaphors of Appeasement and Molotov Ribbentrop Pact
We all rely on metaphors to make the present more understandable. I did the same when I compared Trump’s presidency to the era of Khrushchev.
The widely accepted narrative is that the historical parallel for Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine lies in the political events preceding the outbreak of the Second World War. According to this view, Nazi Germany’s successful aggressive moves to seize Austria and the predominantly German-populated territories of Czechoslovakia—facilitated by the West’s appeasement policy—only emboldened Hitler’s plans for world conquest. From this perspective, any appeasement of an authoritarian ruler is seen as a fundamental mistake, especially when the aggressor claims to be protecting an ethnic minority in a neighboring state. Compromise is deemed unacceptable, and only absolute victory is considered permissible over a reincarnation of the evil dictator seeking to revise borders.
This position has taken on the status of a moral absolute—one further reinforced by its indirect connection to the Holocaust. Anyone who thinks differently is marginalized. This othering is intensified by the perception that outcast politicians, such as Trump, are modern-day reincarnations of Chamberlain, mere puppets of Putin—today’s Hitler—while their adversaries are cast in the role of Churchill.
A new parallel has emerged following President Trump’s recent attempts to shut down the war: the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which divided Poland between Hitler and Stalin.
There are three problems with these widely used historical metaphors for understanding today’s events.
1) First, while every politician possesses a certain degree of ruthlessness, ambition, and willingness to gain an advantage, not everyone is Stalin or Hitler. This is a crucial distinctio
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