44 Days in Prague

After a chance discovery that her grandmother had pro-German sympathies, Ann Shukman resolved to investigate her grandfather Walter Runciman's 1938 Mission to Prague. This delegation, sponsored by the British Government, sought to broker peace between Czechoslovakia's government and its Sudeten German minority--a dispute that Hitler was aggravating with virulent anti-Czech propaganda and threats of invasion.

Drawing fresh evidence from personal diaries, private papers and Czech publications, 44 Days in Prague exposes the misunderstandings and official ignorance that provoked a calamitous series of betrayals, eventually ensuring the failure of the Mission. It reveals that, while Walter Runciman always supported the integrity of the Czechoslovak republic, his wife Hilda--ultimately a vital part of the Mission--was publicly favouring the German cause.

This is a moving portrayal of Walter's declining influence as tensions mounted, from the couple's efforts to court the old aristocracy--some pro-German, others pro-Czech--at weekend shooting parties and other glittering social occasions, to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's fatal undermining of the Mission, in his abrupt decision to fly to Berchtesgaden for direct negotiations with Hitler. Shukman's vivid narrative combines personal insight with meticulous research to shine new light on this pivotal yet tragic episode of European history.