Abschied was written just before the Nazi takeover. It reads in the breathless, immediate manner it was conceived.

The excerpt that has been published has been taken from the opening pages. But this book is truly worth reading.

Not only Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark or Prussia have a Royal past. Bavaria was a monarchy, too. "Gott mit dir, du Land der Bayern, deutsche Erde, Vaterland!" are the ...