Munich Playground

Twenty-six-year-old American Ernest Pope arrived in Munich as a Reuters correspondent in in 1936. From then until he left in the summer of 1940 he saw first-hand the wild excesses of the Nazis. He wrote mainly for British newspapers-notably the Daily Express-but after September 1939 he could only supply material to the USA as lines to Britain were closed. As events hotted up he left for home just two months prior to America's entry to the war. Back in the safety of the United States he spent six months writing down what he had seen and who he had met. With wicked wit and superb style he ridicules the Nazis, showing them up for what they truly were-boorish and evil thugs. His narrative reads like a sensational novel, but for the poor inhabitants of Germany the unbelievable was in fact everyday life. Pope knew, saw or interviewed all the top Nazis and dozens of lower-level officials, including some of Hitler's security men. Fluent in Bavarian German dialect, Pope made many friends in Munich with citizens and officials alike. He heard jokes from Munichers that could get them thrown in a concentration camp and he poked fun at Nazis whenever he dared. Munich Playground is a 'must read' for anyone who wishes to understand what Hitler's Third Reich was really like.