This is John Bachelor. What follows is a conversation with Charles Spicer, his book is

Coffee with Hitler. The untold story of the amateur spies who tried to civilize the Nazis.

This is between the war period. Between the 1920s and the

catastrophe of the second war beginning in September of 1939. There are businessmen in Berlin,

there are businessmen in Berlin, there are businessmen in London who see a way to civilize the

Nazis or at least make amends for the confrontation of the first war and find a way to work together or live together in Europe in the 1930s.

The detail here is overwhelming. The effort to civilize Hitler, or at least introduce him to British

politicians who can in some fashion calm him down, the aggressive language and the prejudice the Nuremberg laws the anti-Semitism.

In this passage we come to when Hitler moves after all the talk he moves in 1936, the Rhineland. And I asked

Charles, why didn't London move back? Why didn't Paris move back? Why didn't the allies push?

Charles explains the irony here momentarily. The opportunity to stop Hitler right at the beginning in his aggression.

This is Charles Spicer, coffee with Hitler, the untold story of the amateur spies who tried to civilize the Nazis, and the missed

moment of the 20th century. We're still cursed by this.

Here's Charles.

Christie gives London a days to move, a day warning that Hitler's going to make this move into

the Rhineland, violating the terms of both the Versailles Treaty and the Lacharno Treaty.

So London knows they're not completely unaware

and you report that Hitler thought it was going to fail.

Why doesn't recently and the electorate was in had no patience for military action at the time had

voted 90% in favour of demilitarization and in favor of not responding to these sorts of actions in an overly

militaristic way. I think the point you make John is absolutely spot on. I think almost all historians who study this period would agree that this was the greatest missed opportunity.

Hitler thought there was a he only sent what is it 30,000 soldiers into the Rhineland and the

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