In 1928, Winston Churchill was at the height of his career. Chancellor of the Exchequer and a powerful and popular orator, leadership of the Conservative Party seemed within his grasp. A year later, all had changed. The Conservatives were defeated and, when a National Government was formed in 1931, Churchill was not asked to join it. Though he was a lone figure from this point, his acute political sense, foresight and courage were undiminished. Fed with secret inside information, Churchill consistently warned of the Nazi danger, even before the rise of Hitler. The British government, led by Stanley Baldwin and later Neville Chamberlain, fought him at every turn, even refusing him the right to broadcast. But he never gave up. It was as a direct result of his dogged perseverance that the British public came to realise the truth of his warnings — and a bond was formed that would be so vital in the years to come.

One of our most eminent historians presents a powerful look at the buildup to and aftermath of one of the most decisive moments of the Second World War — Kristallnacht — not only for the Jewish population suddenly identified as a group to be destroyed, but also in terms of the international response it inspired and its larger implications.