Rezension zu
München

Could the Second World War have been avoided?! ~ The Munich Agreement The historical thriller Munich based on the Munich Agreement was signed by the Great Powers England, France, Italy and Germany. It is very well shown in the book that the Czechs were excluded from the negotiations, although the contract was about their state: a humiliation. What I like very much is when the two special trains of Germany and Italy arrive at Kufstein, Austria. The scenes on the train during the journey as well as the meeting afterwards at the station is described brilliantly as you can already feel the tension and nervous atmosphere increasing gradually among the different parties. If I had had such a great book to read once at school I would have been thankful. I could not imagine a better historical knowledge basis for an entertaining History lesson! With the brilliant presentation of the political problems during the time of the Third Reich Robert Harris wants to emphasize that Hitler wanted a war by all means. To be exact, he wanted a war of conquest! The policy of appeasement intended by Chamberlain, who wanted peace in any case was highly esteemed by his people. Furthermore the Author does a great job in describing how phisically exhausting the challenging duties of a politician are. Moreover we can learn how different persons rely on each other when they have to work out difficult political tasks. The author shows how essential efforts of a translator and interpretor are. The politicians depend on these people because if they do not translate properly there can be misunderstandings which lead to possible awful results. The do-gooders of the plot are Prime Minister Chamberlain as well as his private secretary Legat who works for the Department of Foreign Affairs. In all respects the book has an excellent arc of suspense and presents informative background information about historical coherence regarding the reasons that lead to the Second World War. For that reason it is a smart and enriching reading experience.