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

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TELEGRAPHHISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR How the British might have handled Hitler differentlyremains one of historys greatest what ifs. Coffee with Hitler tells the astounding and poignant story, for the first time, of a handful of amateur British intelligence agents who wined, dined and befriended the leading National Socialists between the wars. With support from royalty, aristocracy, politicians and businessmen, they hoped to use the much mythologised Anglo-German Fellowship as a vehicle to civilise the Nazis. A pacifist Welsh historian, a Great War flying ace, and a butterfly-collecting businessman offered the British government better intelligence on the horrifying rise of the Nazis than anyone else. Charles Spicer draws on newly discovered primary sources, shedding light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchills approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair.

Reviews

'Compelling study.'

-- Daily Telegraph

'This engaging book offers a warning from history that remains terrifyingly relevant today.'

-- Observer

Squirmingly enthralling.

-- The Spectator, Books of the Year 2022

Fascinating an important book, which must be taken into account by all who write about the subject in future. It is well produced and illustrated with excellent photographs. The story of Tennant, Conwell-Evans and Christie and their historical journey is an absorbing one, which casts light on many aspects of the period They deserve the rehabilitation that Charles Spicer has eloquently accorded them.

-- Literary Review

'This is a complex tale, but as skillfully narrated by Spicer, it moves along briskly.'

-- 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. ...A truly illuminating, humane and sophisticated book and, one hopes, the first of many by an exciting new talent on the historical scene.'

-- Tortoise

If ever there was a case of the road to hell being paved with good intentions, it is surely the story that Charles Spicer tells so brilliantly and empathetically in this exceptionally well-written book.

-- David Cannadine

In this very well-researched and well-written work of historical revisionism, Charles Spicer reminds us of the important fact that not every Briton who wanted better relations with Nazi Germany did so from malign motives.

-- Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

Charles Spicer tells the chilling story of how otherwise respectable men and women became pawns in a game of international intrigue with a reprehensible regime. The outstanding narrative reads like a thriller, taking readers from the salons of stately homes and St Jamess clubs to the mass rallies and diplomatic backrooms of Nazi Germany. With more than a few spies, rogues, and plot twists along the way, Spicer tells a story that could be ripped from the pages of a novel.

-- Bradley Hart, author of Hitlers American Friends

[An] absorbing history dbut.

-- Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller

Charles Spicer reveals the bold attempt of a handful of British intelligence agents to infiltrate and civilise the Nazi hierarchy. 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 Hitlers diabolical regime. Meticulously researched and told with panache, Coffee with Hitler sheds new light on both the Nazis themselves and the group who tried to tame them.

-- Giles Milton, author of Churchills Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Spicer offers a meticulously researched and pacy account of the behind-the-scenes soft diplomacy conducted by the Anglo-German Fellowship, a group of like-minded businessmen, politicians and academics united in the aim of preventing war with Nazi Germany. This fascinating study challenges the too easy dichotomy between the villainous and duped appeasers and those with Churchillian foresight and insight.

-- Julie Gottlieb, professor of modern history, University of Sheffield

A captivating and convincing revisionist history.

-- Kirkus, starred review

'As a lesson of history, this excellent book is a sober reminder to policymakers to look at the evidence in plain sight.'

-- 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.

-- Choice Magazine

Spicer, who has given close, neutral and unerring scrutiny of the sources, proves to be a brisk, fair-minded and authoritative revisionist Coffee with Hitler should make it impossible to continue to lampoon the Fellowship as an unsavoury gang.

-- Richard Davenport-Hines, TLS

Spicers book is a resounding success, retelling the fascinating history of the Anglo-German Fellowship.

-- Darren OByrne, History Today

This compelling book captures the double-edged nature of one mainstay of British values giving even the most blatantly disgusting people the benefit of the doubt.

-- The Week

Author Bio

Charles Spicer is a debut author whose groundbreaking research is based on his recent doctorate, which was examined by leading historians. He has an MA from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of London. He lives in Suffolk.