Chas Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, was born to power. Scion of an aristocratic family, Churchill's cousin, royal confidant, owner of vast coal fields & landed estates, wed to the doyenne of London society, he was an ornament to his class, the .1% who still owned 30% of England's wealth as late as '30. But history hasn't been kind to 'Charley', as the king called him, because, in his own words, he "backed the wrong horse"--a very dark horse indeed: Adolf Hitler & the Nazis. Londonderry wasn't the only aristocrat to do so, but he was the only Cabinet member to do so. It ruined him. In a final irony, his grand London house was bombed by the Luftwaffe in the blitz. Kershaw isn't out to rehabilitate Londonderry but to understand him, to expose why he was made a scapegoat for views that were much more widely held than anyone likes to think. H.L. Mencken famously said that "for every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat & wrong." The conventional explanation of the coming of WWII is a simple story of the West's appeasement of Hitler in the face of bullying. Thru the story of how Londonderry came to be mixed up with the Nazis & how it all went wrong, Kershaw shows that behind the familiar cartoon is a much more complicated & interesting reality, with miscalculations on both sides, fatal miscalculations.

Ian Kershaw

New York: Penguin Press

Penguin Press (NY)

Penguin Books

United States, United States of America

[Paperback reprint], New York, 2004

1st American, PS, 2004

New York, 2005, ©2004

First Edition, 2004

Includes bibliographical references (p. 452-464) and index.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 452-464) and index
A Patrician's progress -- Illusions and delusions about Hitler -- Downfall of the Air Minister -- Nazi friends -- Lengthening shadows -- Hope at last -- End of the dream -- Out in the cold -- Mount Stewart, September 1947
"Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the 7th Marquess of Londonderry, was born to power and command. Scion of one of Britain's most aristocratic families, cousin of Churchill and confidant of the king, owner of vast coal fields and landed estates, married to the doyenne of London's social scene, Londonderry was an ornament to his class, the 0.1 percent of the population who still owned 30 percent of England's wealth as late as 1930. But history has not been kind to "Charley," as the king called him, because, in his own words, he "backed the wrong horse," and a very dark horse indeed: Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. Londonderry was hardly the only British aristocrat to do so, but he was the only Cabinet member to do so, and it ruined him. In a final irony, his grand London house was bombed by the German Luftwaffe in the blitz." "Ian Kershaw is not out to rehabilitate Lord Londonderry but to understand him and to expose why he was made a scapegoat for views that were much more widely held than anyone now likes to think. Through the story of how Lord Londonderry came to be mixed up with the Nazis and how it all went horribly wrong for him, Ian Kershaw shows us that behind the familiar cartoon is a much more complicated and interesting reality, full of miscalculations on both sides, miscalculations that proved to be among the most fateful in history."--Jacket

Describes how one of Britain's most important aristocrats, Lord Londerry, was ruined by his association with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party and the miscalculations on the part of the British that led to the Second World War. Reprint.

Describes how one of Britain's most important aristocrats, Lord Londonderry, was ruined by his association with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party and the miscalculations on the part of the British that led to the Second World War

2023-06-28