King and Country: The 1933 Student Debate That Shook the World

By David Vaiani

The story of how an Oxford student group's message of pacifism shocked the world at the onset of World War II.

Barely ten days after Adolf Hitler had become Chancellor of Germany on February 9th, 1933, the Oxford Union, the internationally renowned student debating society, sent shockwaves around the world when its members declared that they would, in no circumstances, fight for King and Country. This book tells the full story of that debate, examining the attitudes towards pacifism and appeasement in Britain between the wars while seeking to understand this fascinating period of history through the eyes of a generation that said no to war.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1851246754
• ISBN13: 9781851246755
• Release Date: November 2026
• Publisher: Bodleian Library
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.