History is about perspective as well as information. To understand Germany’s actions during the Czechoslovakian crisis, we have a great deal of information and perspective from the top but much less from the bottom. The reason for this unevenness is obvious. In a dictatorship, people censor themselves continuously – in every letter they write and in every conversation they have. As a consequence, we are left with anecdotal evidence. However, with the help of new sources this article shows that it is possible to combine political and social history to understand this crisis in its multiple dimensions.
