Coffee with Hitler: The British Amateurs Who Tried to Civilise the Nazis

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I understand I can change my preference through my account settings or unsubscribe directly from any marketing communications at any time. The Oldie 'The extraordinary story of three men, a Welsh historian and political secretary, a butterfly-collecting Old Etonian and a Great War fighter ace. The cleverly worked friendships with Ribbentrop, Goring and Goebbels, are explained in precise and reliable detail, that form the platform for approach to HItler himself.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. They consisted of “a leftwing, pacifist Welsh political secretary, a conservative, butterfly-collecting Old Etonian businessman and a pioneering Great War fighter ace”. This tale of the role of the (little known) Anglo-German Fellowship during Britain's slow descent into war as the 1930's progressed, is quite simply fascinating.

A pacifist Welsh historian, a Great War flying ace, a butterfly-collecting businessman… Coffee With Hitler offers a rare glimpse into a motley crew who would provide the British government with better intelligence on the horrifying rise of the Nazis than anyone else. Washington Post 'In this terrific debut, historian Charles Spicer genuinely enriches and deepens our understanding of the Thirties - the all-important decade in which the great and the good of these islands, scarred to the depths of their souls by the Great War, struggled to avoid a second global conflict. Tension builds as the three Germanophile's close friendships with the top echelons of the Nazi leadership get further and further strained as war approaches.

I could not recommend this book enough - not least because it reveals just how nuanced the whole subject of appeasement had become by1939. Spicer’s book is a resounding success, retelling the fascinating history of the Anglo-German Fellowship. The collective efforts are played out through the Anglo-German Fellowship and its German equilivent Deutsch-Englische Gesellschaft. Importantly, the author has provided a reliable and strong backdrop on the positions of various nations including Russia, Austria, Czechoslavakia (now The Czech Republic), Italy, France, and Spain (who were themselves split through civil war during the same period). Drawing on newly discovered primary sources, Charles Spencer sheds light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchill’s approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair, in a groundbreaking reassessment of Britain's relationship with Nazi Germany.Drawing on newly discovered primary sources, Charles Spencer sheds light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchill's approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair, in a groundbreaking reassessment of Britain's relationship with Nazi Germany. Coffee with Hitler tells the astounding true story of a handful of amateur British intelligence agents who wined, dined and befriended the leading National Socialists between the wars. ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING - a major and unique contribution to the body of evidence / information on a vital period of European history. When Hitler rose to power in the early 1930s, public reaction in Britain was not that of unalloyed horror.

Coffee with Hitler should make it impossible to continue to lampoon the Fellowship as an unsavoury gang. Literary Review 'This is a complex tale, but as skillfully narrated by Spicer, it moves along briskly. How wonderful, for instance, that when Sir Anthony Eden finally met Hitler (for one of the many coffees the book describes) his main observation concerned the quality of Hitler's tailoring. Charles Spicer has achieved something rare, a book that is entertaining and informative whilst also being an important piece of scholarship.Spicer describes his intentions in writing Coffee With Hitler as being explicitly about those who sought to “civilise” rather than “appease” the Nazis. In this refreshingly objective book, Spicer profiles the Anglo-German Fellowship, a 1930s British collective which tried to “civilise the Nazis” – some from naivety, others out of ruthless pragmatism. Both appeasers and civilisers overrated their own abilities and underestimated the evils to which they – largely unwittingly – played handmaiden. Charles Spicer reveals the bold attempt of a handful of British intelligence agents to infiltrate and civilise the Nazi hierarchy. David Lloyd George (right, with Winston Churchill in 1922) became a key figure in the Anglo-German Fellowship.

In this terrific debut, historian Charles Spicer genuinely enriches and deepens our understanding of the Thirties – the all-important decade in which the great and the good of these islands, scarred to the depths of their souls by the Great War, struggled to avoid a second global conflict. Over cosy dinners and cocktail receptions, the likes of Tennant and Hamilton believed that they could act as a moderating influence between the British government and the German high command, but their continued presence at these events gave such figures as Himmler and Ribbentrop, the eventual German ambassador to Britain, a reassuring picture of the potential opposition they faced. Coffee With Hitler offers a rare glimpse into a motley crew who would provide the British government with better intelligence on the horrifying rise of the Nazis than anyone else. The book works well as a companion to Tim Bouverie’s fine Appeasing Hitler, focusing less on the well-known events and figures of the era and more on the gentlemanly amateur diplomats of the day.This unlikely band of mavericks – who included a butterfly-collecting Old Etonian and a left-wing Welsh pacifist – spent five doomed years wining and dining the leading henchmen of Hitler’s diabolical regime. The extraordinary story of three men, a Welsh historian and political secretary, a butterfly-collecting Old Etonian and a Great War fighter ace.