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History World War Ii

The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion

by (author) Alvin Finkel & Clement Leibovitz

introduction by Christopher Hitchens

Publisher
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers
Initial publish date
Dec 2011
Category
World War II, 20th Century
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781552778876
    Publish Date
    Dec 2011
    List Price
    $16.99

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Description

Was Neville Chamberlain merely naïve, a man of peace who was blind to Hitler's warlike intentions in the late 1930s? Or did he, with the backing of much of Britain's ruling elite, positively prefer Nazism to the threat of Communism in a politically charged era?
Alvin Finkel and Clement Leibovitz forcefully maintain the latter view. They present irrefutable evidence that in 1938 Chamberlain's government, supported by powerful business interests and an influential segment of the press, sought an agreement with the Nazis that would protect the west against attack while positively encouraging German expansion in central and eastern Europe. Attempts to conclude a pact among Britain, France, Germany and Italy were not, in fact, abandoned until Churchill's ascension to power in May of 1940.
The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion is a bold and scrupulously documented reexamination of a vital period in European history, one that definitively overturns much received wisdom.

About the authors

Alvin Finkel has taught Canadian history at Athabasca University since 1978. His main areas of research and teaching are the history of social policy, labour history, and Western Canadian history. Best known for his co-authorship with Margaret Conrad of the two-volume History of the Canadian Peoples, his other publications include The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta and Our Lives: Canada after 1945. His latest book is Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History.

Alvin Finkel's profile page

CLEMENT LEIBOVITZ spent eight years researching the events leading to the Second World War - he passed away Nov 14, 2009.

Clement Leibovitz's profile page

Christopher Hitchens was a journalist and the author of twenty books, including the international bestselling book God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. He was a regular contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly, and Slate. His writing has also appeared in the Weekly Standard, the National Review, and The Independent, and he has made television appearances on The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Hitchens was named one of the world’s "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" by Foreign Policy and Britain's Prospect. He recently wrote a memoir, Hitch-22.

Christopher Hitchens' profile page

Editorial Reviews

"Finkel and Leibovitz have come up with a new and more satisfactory explanation of why the Second World War broke out when it did."

Telegraph Journal

"Anyone who likes to read about the Second World War -- and anyone who remembers its beginnings -- will learn much from this book.... The story [The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion tells should be better known."

Charlottetown Guardian

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