How Neville Chamberlain's attempts to stop WWII inspired Munich: The Edge of War
Fans of World War II movies are in for a treat, as the new film Munich: The Edge of War looks at a part of history Hollywood has previously overlooked.
Rather than focus on the British leader Winston Churchill, it focusses on his predecessor Neville Chamberlain in the period before war had broken out.
But how much f the movie is true? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is Munich about?
The Netflix synopsis says: “It is fall 1938, and Europe is on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain’s British government is desperately trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.
“In the face of the mounting pressure, British civil servant Hugh Legat and German diplomat Paul von Hartmann travel to the emergency meeting in Munich.
“As discussions commence, the two old friends find themselves tangled in a web of political deceit and threats. Can the war be avoided with the whole world watching? And if it can, at what cost?”
No, not exactly. The historical events and characters may be true, but this account is fictionalised.
It is based on the international bestseller by Robert Harris, which is rooted in historical fact.
The main plot of the two civil servants who are reunited six years after university is not true, but the events surrounding them are.
It is focussed on the signing of the Munich agreement, a pact designed to get Hitler to agree not to use his military in return for taking the disputed territory of Sudetenland.
Countries including France, Italy, Nazi Germany, and Britain all signed it in the hope another major conflict would be avoided in Europe.
In the UK it was pursued by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.
The character of Paul von Hartmann was inspired by Adam von Trott zu Solz, an anti-Nazi diplomat who joined the Party to try and take them down from within.
Ultimately, the Munich agreement failed and war broke out less than a year later.
Chamberlain, who had become Britain’s prime minister in May 1937, resigned eight months into the war with Germany.
Munich – The Edge of War will be streaming from 21 January.
It is available exclusively on Netflix.
