Munich, 1938: Appeasement and World War IIOn September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew back to London from his meeting in Munich with German Chancellor Adolf Hitler. As he disembarked from the aircraft, he held aloft a piece of paper, which contained the promise that Britain and Germany would never go to war with one another again. He had returned bringing “Peace with honour—Peace for our time.” Drawing on a wealth of archival material, acclaimed historian David Faber delivers a sweeping reassessment of the extraordinary events of 1938, tracing the key incidents leading up to the Munich Conference and its immediate aftermath: Lord Halifax’s ill-fated meeting with Hitler; Chamberlain’s secret discussions with Mussolini; and the Berlin scandal that rocked Hitler’s regime. He takes us to Vienna, to the Sudentenland, and to Prague. In Berlin, we witness Hitler inexorably preparing for war, even in the face of opposition from his own generals; in London, we watch as Chamberlain makes one supreme effort after another to appease Hitler. Resonating with an insider’s feel for the political infighting Faber uncovers, Munich, 1938 transports us to the war rooms and bunkers, revealing the covert negotiations and scandals upon which the world’s fate would rest. It is modern history writing at its best. |
Contents
1 | |
9 | |
Scandal in Berlin | 46 |
The Last Frail Chance | 76 |
The Loaded Pause | 104 |
A Spring Storm | 139 |
Crisis in May | 169 |
A Faraway Country | 199 |
On the Razors Edge | 272 |
A New and Sharper Sword | 297 |
On the Banks of the Rhine | 325 |
Keep Calm and Dig | 356 |
The Flying Messenger of Peace | 391 |
Drawing the Sword | 427 |
Notes | 438 |
Bibliography | 493 |
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16 September 28 September agreed ambassador Amery Anschluss Archives army arrived Ashton-Gwatkin August Austria Beneš Berchtesgaden Berghof Berlin Blomberg Brauchitsch Britain British Cabinet Cadogan Diaries Chamberlain to Ida Churchill Ciano crisis crowd Czech Czech government Czechoslovakia Daily Express Daladier DBFP 3/II DGFP D/II diplomatic Downing Street Duff Cooper embassy February force Foreign Ministry Foreign Office Foreign Secretary France François-Poncet French Fritsch Führer further Gestapo Godesberg Goebbels Göring Grandi Harvey Henderson to Halifax Henlein Herr Hitler Hossbach Ida Chamberlain Keitel Kershaw Kirkpatrick later Leo Amery London Lord March meeting memorandum military Munich Mussolini Nazi Neurath Neville Neville Chamberlain Newton Nicolson night November Nuremberg October peace Phipps plebiscite political Prague Prime Minister proposals refused Reich Chancellery reply reported returned Ribbentrop Runciman Schmidt Schuschnigg September 1938 Shirer speech Sudeten Germans Sudetenland telegram telephone told troops Vansittart Vienna Volume warned Weizsäcker Wilson wrote