Munich by Robert Harris

Munich by Robert Harris

I admit I’m a longtime fan of Robert Harris’ novels.  Why is that?  He carves his characters out of stone, whether he’s writing of ancient Rome or Germany in the Second World War.  He constructs plots that keep you turning pages and along the way he weaves a vibrant tapestry of mystery and intrigue.

In Munich, Robert Harris takes us back to 1938. Neville Chamberlain’s flying to Munich, along with the leaders of France and Italy, to meet with der Führer of Germany and seal the fate of Czechoslovakia.

We know what happened, don’t we?  So how can this be a thriller, a fast read, a book that keeps you on the edge?  Harris grabs you with sub-plots, the personalities of the leaders, and throws you into the middle of a fray.  Suddenly, your faith in what you thought you knew is shaken.  You’re no longer certain of what happened or even what’s about to happen.

Let me set the stage for you:

In 1938, the slaughter called the War to End All Wars was barely twenty years ago.  The allies lost almost five million men. Britain alone lost three quarters of a million.  France lost well over a million.  The Central Powers lost over three million, with Germany’s losses almost two million.  The smell of blood was still fresh, families still had photos of their lost loved ones on their mantels.  The people of Britain, France and others wanted nothing to do with another roar of cannon and chilling letters of bereavement. The horror of tears and loss still hung like a black curtain.

Although its loss was also great, Germany’s outlook was far different. Germany had been brought to its knees, humbled, kicked and punished.  But, it wasn’t war debts and indemnities that pushed the Germans to the status of beggar nation. Unemployment raged.  Social spending increased again and again.  Politicians lost control of the budget.  Inflation lent its torch to the economic bond fire. You had to take your money in a wheelbarrow to buy a loaf of bread.  Still, reparation payments called for in the peace treaty that ended the war could have been paid, but for protective tariffs levied by the great powers on German goods.

In 1933 a man arose out of Germany’s defeat who could turn the country around.  The time was ripe and Adolph Hitler was ready. His unlikely rise is a fascinating story in itself and also one of the most tragic in the history of the world.

By 1938, Hitler’s star had climbed to the German heavens. He was Chancellor.  With little to no bloodshed he had taken back the Rhineland from France in 1936 and annexed Austria in March 1938.  Added to that, both Britain and France had agreed to Germany’s rearmament in 1935.

France had a larger Army, but did nothing.  Britain also did nothing.  The peoples of both countries would do anything to avoid another war.  In Britain, Chamberlain was a hero.  Yes, he gave concessions to Germany, but he kept Britain at peace.

To the German public, Hitler was reuniting Germany and making it powerful again.  But, now his sights were on the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia, which included a large German-speaking population.  Hitler wanted that piece of real estate, too.  Britain and France agreed to that, with the details to be worked out and signed in Munich.  After all, Hitler had promised that the Sudetenland was the last piece of the puzzle.  There would be no war.

L to R, Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, Ciano

So, while the former allies wanted peace at any price, Germany wanted to resume it’s rightful place as a nation of prominence.  The Czechs were an impedance to all parties involved and their part in the peaceful breaking up of their country was nothing but an afterthought.

Robert Harris’s novel, Munich, goes into the back corridors to bring the scenes to life, examining not only the major players, but their subordinates whose friendships on both sides went all the way back to university days at Oxford.  Harris’ plot takes us back not only to what did happen, but what didn’t and steers us into the heart of a web that lasted well into the Second World War.  Plots.  Intrigues. Love affairs. Indelible characters.  All of them with the special Robert Harris touch that keeps you on edge, flipping pages, knowing the macro, but feeling every bit of the micro.  Historic fiction is Harris’ milieu and one of the best writers to ever bring history to life and all the while bringing the reader the good and bad, as we know it…and even the parts we never knew.

Want history as it should be written, as well as a thrilling plot with indelible characters and a driving purpose?  Munich is the book.