Ten films about the build up to the second world war

Netflix’s adaptation of Robert Harris’ political thriller Munich – The Edge of War attempts in part to rehabilitate the reputation of former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (played by Jeremy Irons), popularly believed to be the architect of appeasement in relation to Hitler’s Germany.

Nick Cohen, in the pages of The Spectator attempted with some success to rebut the revisionist apologia for Chamberlain.

To my eyes, the crux of the matter is whether taking stronger measures against Hitler at the beginning of his dictatorship would have deterred him – or that Chamberlain’s accommodations with the Nazis provided vital time to build up Britain’s armed forces and acclimatise public opinion to conflict with Germany.

Whatever the merits of Harris’ case, the picture has received generally positive reviews, with Irons’ performance as Chamberlain attracting particular praise.

Previously Neville Chamberlain has been portrayed by variety of UK thespians of a certain age, including Ronald Pickup (The Darkest Hour), Michael Aldridge (Countdown to War), Jack Shepherd (Into the Storm), Eric Porter (Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years) and Rupert Frazer (Downton Abbey). Chamberlain