MUNICH AND BEFORE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 5, 28 July 1939, Page 37

MUNICH AND BEFORE

EYEWITNESS IN CZECHO-SLO-VAKIA, By Alexander Henderson. George G. Harrap Ltd., London. 336 p.p. and 4 maps. . It is not often possible to admit a publisher’s claim that a book is in a class by itself. In this case it is possible -first because the author was on the spot when the news broke, and had been there long enough to know what it meant; in the second place because he was young enough in years to get excited and old enough in knowledge and experience to keep his head. Because he was a journalist he worked rapidly and with a journalist’s knowledge of the speed at which opportunities pass; but because he had~been through a University he was conscious of the value of documentary evidence, and knew that hearing and seeirig were not enough. There is information’ in‘ his pages that sounded too sensational when it first appeared to be belieyed; but it has already been far more than confirmed. He saw Sudetenland under martial law, Prague in upheaval,, Czechs fighting (and overwhelming) Hungarians after Munich. He saw or heard, what sometimes both saw and heard, what was happening in Poland and’ remote parts of Eastern Europe as the crisis approached. Here for example’is his estimate of "Polish intentions as made plain by the cynical Colonel Beck": 1. If Czecho-Slovakia fought Germany alone, Poland would march with Germany. 2. If France stood by the Czechs, Poland would remain neutral. 3. If Britain as well as France supported Czecho-Slovakia, Poland would attack Germany. It is in fact the unique value of this book that it makes public what only statesmen and high officials knew before it appeared. The holders of secrets will not change. Will those from whom knowledge is withheld?