SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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Swanky Munich proud to host Cup opener
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-29 11:36 HITLER MEETING
"Munich" also became a synonym for "appeasement" after the 1938 meeting here between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler. The British prime minister tried to persuade the Nazi dictator not to send troops into Czechoslovakia by allowing him to take over the German-speaking part of that country. World War Two started a year later anyway when Hitler invaded Poland. Munich, where the Nazis made their first aborted attempt to take power in 1923 with Hitler's beer hall putsch, survived the war less damaged than Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. Munich also profited from West Germany's post-war "Economic Miracle" with corporate flights by firms such as Siemens from Berlin. Even after reunification Munich kept its Cold War booty. The city hosted the 1974 World Cup final when hosts West Germany upset the heavily favoured Netherlands 2-1. It is Germany's most glamorous and most liveable big city. Its central park, the bucolic "Englischer Garten", lies next to the trendy "Schwabing" district with popular nightclubs, restaurants and cafes. "It's a beautiful city," said Strobl. "It's a city with a lot of glamour but you can also see people who still wear lederhosen." The city's sparkling new 66,016-seat stadium that cost 340 million euros and opened just last year is an apt illustration of Munich's quest to have the best of everything and is second in size only to Berlin's stadium for the World Cup.
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