Sometimes a historical novel can tell frightening truths about not only a past time but the present one.  

Such is the case with The Mitford Affair (2023), by Marie Benedict.  

The years 1933 through 1939 saw the rise of Nazi Germany and the embrace of Fascism by millions—not only Germans but those outside Germany.

Among these were members of England’s aristocratic Mitford family. As the book’s cover blurb states:

“Between the World Wars, the six Mitford sisters―each more beautiful, brilliant, and eccentric than the next―dominate the English political, literary, and social scenes.

“Though they’ve weathered scandals before, the family falls into disarray when Diana divorces her wealthy husband to marry a fascist leader and Unity follows her sister’s lead all the way to Munich, inciting rumors that she’s become Adolf Hitler’s mistress.

“As the Nazis rise in power, novelist Nancy Mitford grows suspicious of her sisters’ constant visits to Germany and the high-ranking fascist company they keep. When she overhears alarming conversations and uncovers disquieting documents, Nancy must make excruciating choices as Great Britain goes to war with Germany.”

From 1933 to 1939, Adolf Hitler moved from triumph to triumph—rearming Germany, largely eliminating unemployment, lifting the morale of the vast majority of Germans. And as he did so, Fascism became increasingly popular, even chic. 

Millions saw Fascism as their only protection against Communism. Democracy was widely regarded as too weak to compete with the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin’s legions.

While England was plagued by widespread unemployment and continuing disillusionment over the traumas of World War 1, Hitler’s Germany radiated a newfound pride and purpose.

Sisters Diana and Unity Mitford had their own private reasons for their attraction to Deutschland. Diane had married Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). From Hitler, she hoped to gain funding for the BUF, and eventually did.

Jessica, Nancy, Diana, Unity and Pamela Mitford in 1935

Later, she and Mosley sought the creation of a German-financed ratio station to aim propaganda at their fellow Britons. Both expected—and celebrated—the future conquest of England and its total domination by Hitler.

Unity, meanwhile, became obsessed with Hitler the man. She studied German to speak conversationally with him, and for 10 months staked out his favorite restaurant in hopes of meeting him.

Adolf Hitler

Her patience bore fruit when, after repeatedly noticing her, Hitler, through an adjutant, invited her to his table. He was charmed by her knowledge of German—and her middle name: “Valkyrie.”

In Norse mythology, Valkyries were maidens sent by the god Odin to choose the dead warriors who merited a place in Valhalla.

She won even greater favor from Hitler by giving an anti-Semitic speech at a Hitler Youth festival at Hesselberg and posting an open letter in Der Sturmer (“The Daily Stormer”), the rabidly anti-Semitic newspaper run by Julius Streicher:

“The English have no notion of the Jewish danger. Our worst Jews work only behind the scenes. We think with joy of the day when we will be able to say England for the English! Out with the Jews! Heil Hitler. P.S. please publish my name in full, I want everyone to know I am a Jew hater.”

Unity Mitford

Eva Braun, Hitler’s secret mistress, saw Unity as a rival and attempted suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. She survived, and this led Hitler to bestow greater attention on her.

For five years—at dinners, concerts, party rallies and private meetings–-Hitler remained charmed by Unity and Diana. He reveled in the company of two beautiful women who were members of the British aristocracy—and proudly and openly Fascist.

And they, in turn, remained charmed by him—and excited at their proximity to his lethal power.

Yet, in the end, all three met with disaster.

Diana never got the German radio station for her husband. Instead, she and Mosley found themselves imprisoned as German collaborators after England declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.

Oswald Mosley

Unity, devastated that the two countries she most loved were now at war, shot herself in the temple with a small pistol Hitler had given her for protection. She survived, but remained a vegetable for the rest of her life.

Hitler paid her doctor bills, and when she was able to speak asked her if she wanted to remain in Germany or return to England. She chose England, so Hitler arranged her transportation by ambulance to neutral Switzerland. Her mother and youngest sister, Deborah, met her there and escorted her back to England. 

She died on May 28,1948, of meningitis caused by the cerebral swelling around the bullet. 

On April 30, 1045, having lost the war he had unleashed, Hitler shot himself in his underground bunker.

The Mitford Affair ends in April, 1941, so there is no mention of the death of Unity or Hitler, or the release of Diana and Oswald Mosley from prison in 1943 due to Mosley’s ill health. They were placed under house arrest until the end of the war and denied passports until 1949.

Although the novel centers on characters and incidents that reach back almost a century ago, it’s packed with truths increasingly relevant to America as it nears the 2024 Presidential election.

Those truths will be explored in Part Two of this series.