Appeasement. This term is often gleefully flung at Britain (and France?) implying cowardice and mind-boggling stupidity - and much else besides.

Even a brief glance at an atlas (preferably a historical atlas) will show that, at least as far as Britain is concerned, Eastern Central Europe is one of those areas that is beyond the reach of direct British intervention. In fact, even when Britain and France declared war in 1939, they did nothing to help Poland, with the result that the declaration of war looked rather like the politics of empty rhetoric, of gesture. Britain, by itself, couldn't help a country 'beyond reach'.

Leaving the reasons for appeasement aside, what could Britain and France have done to prevent the Nazi régime's triumphal march through the 1930s?

(For those who are interested in the reasons, here's a link, but please note that this WiKipedia article is disputed. It's also worth looking at the discussion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeasement

However, what would interest me much more than the reasons is to hear comments on what could have been done. Please bear in mind that Britain and France were democracies, and that especially in the light of the horrors of the Great War, going to war wasn't electorally popular.