What was the meaning of the following Neville Chamberlain quote?

Question

In 1938, during the Munich (Czech) Crisis, then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain expressed his distaste for making war preparations over "a quarrel in a faraway land between people of which we know nothing."

That remark seems strange for just before the dawn of the jet age, during an era when Britain had a global empire, because the distance between London and Prague was a little over 600 miles. For comparison, the distances between London and capitals of former colonies were 3000 miles for Ottawa, 3600 miles for Washington, and 10,000 miles for Canberra.

Perhaps a more plausible explanation was the reference to "foreign" German and Czech people. But that doesn't seem to make sense, given that the British Royal Family was largely of German origin, including Queen Victoria's Prince Albert, and Mary of Teck, wife of King George V.

Perhaps I'm taking the phrase out of context, but in the 19th century, the Know Nothings were a group of anti "foreign" (immigrant) Americans, who professed to "know nothing" about their positions.

Otherwise, why would Chamberlain refer to Germans and Czechs as "far away" peoples of whom his contemporaries would know nothing? Did most of them actually feel that way, or was that sentiment more or less particular to Chamberlain? Put another way, was he addressing a large British contingent with a quasi-American "know nothing" mentality (Lady Astor comes to mind.)

Apparently, David Lloyd George opined that "Mr Chamberlain views everything through the wrong end of a municipal drain-pipe."

Answer 1

Actually, in 1938, for most Britons, anywhere East of the Rhine was "a faraway land" of which they knew nothing. Only the rich travelled even to continental Europe; most people took their summer holidays in Margate or Scarborough - my parents had their honeymoon in Slough!

The Commonwealth - particularly, I'm afraid, the white Commonwealth (Australia, Canada, New Zealand) were different, honorary Brits who shared a common language and, to an extent, a culture. India and parts of Africa were "ours", and the US was a kind of errant child with which we had a love-hate relationship.

But Eastern Europeans were "different", speaking strange languages (most Britons didn't even speak French!) and having no connection with Britain.

And, while it's true the Royal Family was largely German, George V had done an excellent job rebranding it as quintessentially British - changing the name to Windsor (you couldn't get more English!) and portraying the Royals as middle-class Britons writ large.

The Empire, as it was then, was ours, sharing a sovereign, language and trade links. Eastern Europe, by comparison, was foreign, confusing, and nothing to do with us.

Answer 2

I suspect that it was political hyperbole intended to boost public support for his policy of appeasement, particularly if you consider the quote in full:

“How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing.”

As James Taulbee observed in his recent book Genocide, Mass Atrocity, and War Crimes in Modern History: Blood and Conscience:

"... taken out of context, [it] suggests indifference. In context, while unfortunately phrased, it reflected a deep-seated fear of another major war."

Memories of the First World War were still fresh in the minds of many in Britain in 1938. As a politician, Chamberlain chose his words with care to garner support for his policy from those who shared his fears.

Answer 3

IMO don't take "faraway land" and "people of which we know nothing" too literally.

It reads like he's referring to Sudetenland and the crisis' immediate stakeholders as something the British have no direct stakes or interests in, and thus not something they'd want to go to war over.

Put another way, a crisis involving territory and people closer to its border (e.g. the Low Countries) or those of its colonies might have warranted making war preparations. Sudetenland, not so much.