Munich, 1938

Appeasement and World War II

By: David Faber

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

On September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew back to London from his meeting at Munich with the German chancellor Adolf Hitler and was greeted with a hero's welcome. As he paused on the aircraft steps, he held aloft the piece of paper, bearing both his and the Fuhrer's signatures, that contained the promise that Britain and Germany would never go to war with each other again. Later that evening, from his upstairs window at 10 Downing Street, he told the ecstatic and thankful crowd that he had returned bringing "Peace with honor---Peace for our time."

In this important reappraisal of the extraordinary events of 70 years ago, acclaimed historian David Faber traces the key incidents leading up to the meeting at Munich and its immediate aftermath. He describes Lord Halifax's ill-fated visit to Hitler; Chamberlain's secret negotiations with Mussolini, followed by the resignation of Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden; and the Berlin scandal that rocked Hitler's regime. Faber takes us to Vienna for the Nazi Anschluss; to the Sudentenland, the mountainous border region of Czechoslovakia, where Hitler's puppets attempted to provide him with a pretext for war by inciting the minority German population to rebellion; and to Prague, where the Czechoslovak government desperately tried to head off the Fuhrer's warlike intentions. In Berlin, we witness Hitler inexorably preparing for war, even in the face of opposition from his own generals; and in London, we watch helplessly as Chamberlain seizes executive control from his own cabinet and makes one supreme effort after another to appease Hitler, culminating in his three remarkable flights to Germany.

Drawing on a wealth of original archival material, including diaries and notes taken by Hitler and Chamberlain's translator, Faber's sweeping reassessment of the events of 1938 resonates with an insider's feel for the political infighting he uncovers.

©2008 David Faber (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"With an encyclopedic grasp of the diplomatic issues at hand, David Faber has written the most thoughtful and well-researched study of the Munich Conference ever written.... Brilliant." (Douglas Brinkley, author of The Wilderness Warrior)

Brilliant

Every bureaucrat and “elected“ official in our government and defense infrastructure should read this book. An important and in-depth portrayal of government weakness and ineptitude leading to disastrous consequences easily avoided.

Excellent Book with Valuable Lessons

This is a richly-detailed and clearly written story of the infamous ???Munich Agreement??? of 1938. What Chamberlain defended at the time as an agreement based on a reasoned ???appeasement??? policy designed to avoid war and promote a lasting ???peace in our time??? is shown to have been in reality nothing more than an abject surrender to the vicious threats of war and invasion made by Nazi Germany. The shame of the matter was not merely that Chamberlain was deceived (probably due both to wishful thinking and to self delusion) into believing Hitler???s statement that he had no further territorial claims in Europe once he had secured the German-speaking Sudeten areas of Czechoslovakia. The shame lay deeper in that Britain and France abandoned a strategic, democratic ally to the horrors of Nazi occupation and control. Munich was not a civilized negotiation conducted in good faith; it was a decision by France and Britain to accept surrender terms dictated by Hitler in order to avoid war. France and Britain had no better choice because they had over the previous five years allowed themselves to fall behind Germany in military preparedness and had missed numerous opportunities to check Hitler and Nazi Germany before it was too late.

This book, together with Churchill???s volume ???The Gathering Storm,??? offer lasting lessons on the importance of confronting problems early when they are small and manageable, the qualities demanded of true leaders when public opinion is against them, and the eternal folly of yielding to evil forces out of expediency.

OUTSTANDING

What made the experience of listening to Munich, 1938 the most enjoyable?

To someone who loves gaining an overall prospective and fan of Radio news from that period this was a joy to listen to.

What did you like best about this story?

Its a full picture of the practice of appeasement and the damage it did to all nations of Europe save Germany.

An In-Depth Review of Appeasement 1938

This book provides context & detail of the failed appeasement policy in 1938. It goes in-depth & is a splendid complement to broader, more general histories. The narrative proceeds with perfect pace. The descriptions of people, places & circumstances are well-drawn & compelling. It is a balanced treatment of Chamberlain’s motives and a vivid one of the man. Hitler, too, is portrayed with skill. The reader is excellent. I highly recommend this book for those interested in & fascinated by the period.

Focused account of the diplomatic prelude to WWII

We have many accounts of WWII, some giving an overview and others focusing on different aspects or geographical locations of the conflict. Faber has done something unusual, which is to analyze in detail a series of events before the outbreak of hostilities. These events, mostly attempts at diplomacy initiated by the British in 1938, culminated in Neville Chamberlain's famous assertion that through his face-to-face meetings with Hitler, he had achieved "peace in our time." Of course this was a foolish wish on the part of an idealistic and naive Chamberlain rather than a description of reality.

Faber's book is an account of how England and France came to yield in the face of Hitler's territorial demands, thus sending Czechoslovakia to its doom. Full of rich details gleaned from contemporary documents, the story has a "you are there" feel because Faber doesn't foreshadow what is to come, instead allowing events to unfold gradually in the narrative. His descriptions of the key actors in the drama are so expertly drawn that they come to life. Although the author's prejudices against Chamberlain and for Churchill are clear, the bias is tempered with ample supporting facts and at least to me, didn't feel overdone.

In addition to presenting a marvelous story, the book is expertly narrated. Arthur Morey's calm, measured demeanor is exactly what the material calls for.

It seems unfinished

Any additional comments?

What's in this book is incredibly detailed. But what isn't is this book...just isn't in this book.

So much details about Germanies military scandals which are not particularly relevant to what happened in Munich.

Apart from one or two lines. There was no mention and certainly no details about what was going on with Russia. Nothing about why Britain adopted a policy of Apeasement or why Chamberland was a pacifist.

All of these issues are covered in other books such as Volume 2 of the Churchill: The Last Lion. I was exspecting these issues to be covered in great detail and I am shocked to discover that weren't even addressed.

Great insight into the events of 1938

This book was fascinating. I went into it thinking I already knew a lot about these events, but once I started listening I realized that I knew very little. The book doesn't just cover the Czechoslovak Crisis of 1938 - it covers the events leading up to it as well, and in great detail, such as the Anschluss (which is treated much more fairly and with much more detail than is often done in history books) and the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair (which I had never heard of but was really interesting). In that sense, the title is a little misleading, but in a good way - by covering all of 1938, the book gives a massive amount of insight into the inner workings of Nazi Germany in this time period. It also covers British events, such as the resignation of Anthony Eden from Chamberlain's Cabinet and the Churchill-led organized opposition to Chamberlain's appeasement policy, as well as giving a great deal of insight into Chamberlain's thought processes during this time.

Although the events covered in the book are really interesting and presented in detail, the real strength of this book is its ability to portray the people involved. You feel like you are there, in the room, with Hitler and his generals or Hitler and Chamberlain. It gave me a much deeper insight into the motives, personalities, and - surprisingly - humanity of the major players. A lot of time is spent on the manoeuvring of Hitler's generals and you really see them for who they are, not as purely evil villains. I was also struck by Chamberlain's stubborn naivete and Hitler's crazy mood swings. It was fascinating and real, giving me a whole new perspective on what happened.

The narration was all right. I don't speak German, so I can't comment very well on the pronunciation of the German names, but it seemed all right to me. I get very frustrated when words are mispronounced, though, and I can remember shouting correct pronunciations at the audiobook multiple times when the narrator mispronounced something. However, the pace was good and it was easy to keep up with dialogue, so i gave it three stars.

Overall, the book is very engaging, detailed, and interesting. I learned a lot about this critical period, and it covered much more than I was expecting about the year 1938 based on the title. The people are real, not caricatures, and the events are described in detail. It does require the reader to keep track of a large number of people, and having some background about the lead-up to 1938 helps. However, even a less knowledgeable reader would enjoy the insight into the human beings whose actions caused the Second World War.

Everyone should read this

Thorough and balanced history. Amazing details. I can only hope our leaders and voters have access to this story.

Well done view of Munich from the British perspect

The overriding desire to keep the peace is such a sad story. The focus was from the British side. Would have loved to have heard more the Czechs, but it fits in so many ways with the events that the Czechs have so little ink in the account. I better understand the inner drama in the UK prior to and during the Munich crisis. Well worth a listen.

Excellent history lesson.

Educational and depressing to listen to, especially for a Czech.

Chamberlain and Dalladier will always be the traitors for Czech people. Hitler was just a common criminal.

Reader needs a lesson in pronunciation of foreign names.