The order of the day
Vuillard, Éric2018
Book
February 20, 1933: on an unremarkable day during a harsh Berlin winter, a meeting of twenty-four German captains of industry and senior Nazi dignitaries is being held in secret in the plush lounges of the Reichstag. They are there to "stump up" funding for the accession to power of the National Socialist Party and its fearsome Chancellor. This inaugural scene sets the tone of consent which will lead to the worst possible repercussions. March 12, 1938: the annexation of Austria is on the agenda and a grotesque day ensues that is intended to make history: the newsreels capture for eternity a motorized army, a terrible, inexorable power. But behind Goebbels's splendid propaganda, it is an ersatz Blitzkrieg which unfolds, the Panzers breaking down en mass on the roads of Austria. The true behind-the-scenes story of the Anschluss -- a patchwork of minor shows of strength and fine words, a string of fevered telephone calls and vulgar threats -- reveals a starkly different picture: it is no longer strength of character or the determination of a people that wins the day, but rather a combination of intimidation and bluff.
Main title:
The order of the day / Eric Vuillard ; translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti.
Author:
Vuillard, Éric, authorPolizzotti, Mark, translator
Work:
Imprint:
London : Picador, 2018.©2018.
Collation:
128 pages ; 22 cm.
Notes:
Originally published in 2017 as 'L'ordre du jour' in 2017 by Actes Sud.
ISBN:
9781529001471 (pbk)
Dewey class:
843.92
Language:
EnglishFrench
Added title:
Subject:
Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945 -- FictionNationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei -- FictionNazis -- FictionWorld War, 1939-1945 -- FictionHeads of state -- Europe -- FictionDiplomats -- FictionPrime ministers -- FictionDiplomacy -- FictionAustria -- History -- 1938-1945 -- FictionAustria -- History -- Anschluss, 1938 -- FictionHistorical fictionPolitical fiction
BRN:
345614