The Oster Conspiracy of 1938: The Unknown Story of the Military Plot to Kill Hitler and Avert World War II [Paperback]

Parssinen has built up the drama concerning the conspiracy by a meticulous, sometimes hour-by-hour, reconstruction of events in London and Berlin. Except for the ending of the plot, the tension is considerable even though we know the outcome. The chief conspirator, Lieutenant Colonel Hans Oster, was second-in-command at Abwehr, the intelligence division for the German military. He was shocked by the imprisonment of religious figures and political dissidents, and by the first concentration camps. It was not until the "Czech Crisis" of 1938, however, that significantly more officials began to agree with him. The generals knew that Russia and France were pledged to defend Czechoslovakia, and that if Germany tried to take it, the British would probably come in as well. They despaired that they would be deployed in a war they could not win. The conspirators knew that they could only rely on popular support if Hitler were about to start a war for which the German people had no enthusiasm, and they tried to have their contacts in England keep up the pressure so that no appeasement happened. Eventually Chamberlain accepted Hitler's pledge that no further European territories would be demanded; in the words of a conspirator at the Department of the Interior, "Chamberlain has saved Hitler." The conspirators could not act. They made several later assassination attempts, foiled by bad luck. In 1943 the Gestapo discovered Oster's scheme to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland; he was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. In 1945, a few days before the American troops liberated his camp, Oster was hanged.

_The Oster Conspiracy of 1938_ is a detailed examination of a particular period and chain of events that led up to the war. It is exciting at times, and of course sad. Parssinen indulges in some speculation about what might have happened. The conspirators were interested in setting up a government based on Britain's; it might have been conservative, but it would have been broadly representative of German popular opinion. No war, no Holocaust, no Cold War are among the contingencies that might have occurred (although of course some other horrors would have erupted). But above all, fifty million people died in the war, and they would not have. "It might have been" has never been sadder.

Moreover, it is the paralyzing fear of another war that helps render Britains leadership inept in dealing with Hitler. In treating the actions of Chamberlain and Halifax, Mr. Parssinnen is especially skillful. With a well crafted narrative he delineates Britains tragic role in the failure of Osters plan to overthrow Hitlers regime. He tastefully handles the what if factor of this moment in history giving the reader space to let his imagination search the possibilities of a 20th century with only one World War.

A significant element of the book is the short-sighted and ignorant nature of the British leadership, so devoted to the policy of "appeasement" that it ignored the multiple requests of Oster's representatives (including German diplomats) to stand against Hitler's plans for an invasion of Czechoslovakia. The author makes a strong and persuasive case for the position that, if Neville Chamberlain, Horace Wilson, Neville Henderson and the like, had done as the German conspirators requested, the downfall of a shaky Nazi regime might have occurred. Indeed, Mr. Parssinen even notes that in late September a team of commandos stood ready to storm the Reich Chancellery and capture or assassinate Hitler, when the British derailed Oster's plans with the Munich Accord.

The book, however, does not fully develop or convey the strength of character and conviction possessed by Oster or other members of the conspiracy, such as Abwehr attorney Hans von Dohnanyi. The author really only addresses the humanitarian impulse driving some members of the conspiracy in the Epilogue. A more extensive exploration of their personalities and motivations would be most welcome. I hope Mr. Parssinen will cover this in a follow up to his excellent work.