I have commented previously here about how I'm drawn to literature, novels and non-fiction, about the World War II era and I'm particularly intrigued by books that examine the rise of the Third Reich. I want to understand how it could happen, that basically good people (dare I even say that now?) could fall under the spell of a hater, a person bent on eliminating all the "others" from existence. Yet the daily news continually reminds me of how easily it could happen again. Beto O"Rourke's tearful lament in regard to the latest horrific incident of gun violence in El Paso should be considered one more in the growing list of warnings that history is repeating itself under the Trump administration.
Harris's novel is based upon the now renowned conference held in Munich, Germany, in 1938, at which British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Italian leader Mussolini, and France's Daladier signed an agreement with Adolph Hitler allowing him to annex the Sudetenland. He was going to do it anyway - by
None of the signatory countries could stomach the thought of another war so soon on the heels of the first world war. They were neither militarily nor psychologically prepared and the general public looked upon them, especially Chamberlain, as saviors of the peace. Of course, in hindsight historians now understand that the Munich agreement was the worst kind of appeasement which led to the Nazi taking of Czechoslovakia, then Poland, and on and on. In fact, a new book on this subject was just reviewed in this Sunday's New York Times Book Review. https://nyti.ms/2T5CYsP
There were several plots to kill Hitler during the course of his rise to power. Many patriots understood the existential threat that he posed. One of those plots happened and failed during the Munich meetings. In the novel, two men, friends who had attended Oxford together and were in love with the same woman, are at the center of the action. Paul von Hartmann serves in the German forces while Hugh Legat works out of 10 Downing Street. Hartmann has come into possession of a leaked document - yes, even then, before wiki - and he needs to get it into the hands of Chamberlain. He believes that it will change the prime minister's mind and give him a peak into the Fuhrer's true intentions.
Harris is expert at building tension, recreating the atmosphere that prevails when there's a complete lack of trust among staff, where rumors abound and fear of the leader hobbles those with the best of intentions. On the streets and in the various hotels where Hugh and Paul meet, they are constantly on the lookout for spies. Hartmann, the more convinced of the two that Hitler must be taken out, even drives his friend out into the countryside late one night to witness the so-called work camp that's being built in plain sight.
I listened to an audio recording of this book, walking and thinking of the old adage that those who refuse to learn from history are bound to repeat it. As libraries tried to reinvent themselves for the twenty-first century, I attended many conferences and leadership presentations that warned of the dangers of not embracing change. There's the parable of the frog who is set in a pot of water. As the heat rises, the frog adapts. It gets hotter, he adapts more. Until, of course, it's too late for the frog and, by inference, the institution.
As the Third Reich trampled through Europe, we here in America stayed on the sidelines for much too long, refusing to believe the news coming from across the sea. (see my review of The Flight Portfolio). Now our country is being attacked from within, from white nationalists and terrorists who once again are fomenting fear of the "others." Will we capitulate? Appease? Or will we fight against this evil? What will the novelists in the future have to say about us?
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