peace in our time
/ˌpiːs ɪn ɑː ˈtaɪm/, /ˌpiːs ɪn ˌaʊə ˈtaɪm/
/ˌpiːs ɪn ɑːr ˈtaɪm/, /ˌpiːs ɪn ˌaʊər ˈtaɪm/
- a phrase used by the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1938 after signing the Munich Agreement by which Britain, France and Italy allowed Hitler to take control of a part of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain got off the plane from Munich holding up a piece of paper which, he said, represented 'peace in our time' and 'peace with honour'. At the time many people believed that he was right, and that the Munich Agreement had saved Europe from war, but in March 1939 Hitler took all of Czechoslavakia and in September the Second World War began when Poland was invaded, so that these phrases are now remembered with rather bitter feelings.
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peace in our time