Is Munich: Edge of War Based On A True Story?

Netflix hasn’t fallen short when it comes to great original TV series and films in recent moments. From the likes of The Puppet Master to Archive 81, and of course, After Life, subscribers of the streaming giant have little to complain about. 

Enter Munich: The Edge of the War, a shiny new war film for the platform which is jam-packed with top actors like Jeremy Irons and George MacKay. The movie takes place just before the Second World War, and now film buffs are desperate to find out if the plot is based on a true story. 

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Robert Harris, Munich: The Edge of the War is centered around university classmates Hugh (George MacKay) and Paul (Jannis Niewöhner) who end up being at the forefront of negotiations. 

Per Netflix, the film synopsis states: "It is Autumn 1938 and Europe stands on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain's government desperately seeks a peaceful solution.

"With the pressure building, Hugh Legat, British civil servant, and Paul von Hartmann, German diplomat, travel to Munich for the emergency Conference. As negotiations begin, the two old friends find themselves at the centre of a web of political subterfuge and very real danger."

Is Munich: The Edge of the War Based On A True Story?

Although the book and movie adaptation are based on World War Two, the plot and the story which is explored between the two young men in Munich: The Edge of the War is sadly fictitious. 

However, there are some parts of the story which really did happen, like the Munich Conference. In fact, the building in which it was filmed in was where the conference actually took place in real life. 

Author Harris said: "I think one of the triumphs of the film is how much of it is filmed in the building where the Munich conference took place.

"Because you couldn't invent that, an art director couldn't reconstruct that extraordinary building. It was finished in 1937, I think, and very much Hitler's own creation. And so, one of the great moments of the film is when you see everyone sitting around in that great room, and you realise it must have been like that."

Furthermore, some of the movie’s iconic characters are based on real historical figures. For example, the former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who is played by Jeremy Irons and Adolf Hitler who was portrayed by Ulrich Matthes.