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New report on Swedish queen's father's Nazi ties
Source: Agencies |
August 10, 2011, Wednesday
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THE queen of Sweden's father helped at least one Jew escape Hitler's Germany, according to a report commissioned by Queen Silvia in response to media allegations about his Nazi past.
The report - published yesterday - said although Walther Sommerlath belonged to the NSDAP Nazi party, he appeared to have been an inactive member and had helped a Jewish businessman escape the Holocaust.
Swedish media reported in 2002 that Sommerlath had joined Germany's Nazi party in 1934 and took over Efim Wechsler's consumer goods company under unclear circumstances in 1939.
But in yesterday's report, World War II expert Erik Norberg said documents indicate that just before the outbreak of World War II Sommerlath helped Wechsler escape Germany to South America, where he had offered him a coffee plantation and other assets in exchange for the company.
Norberg said the offer was "clearly an attractive one," because the exclusion of Jews from business life in Germany meant he could not take his assets with him.
However, other researchers have questioned the nobility of Sommerlath's actions, as he too gained from the deal.
The report - published yesterday - said although Walther Sommerlath belonged to the NSDAP Nazi party, he appeared to have been an inactive member and had helped a Jewish businessman escape the Holocaust.
Swedish media reported in 2002 that Sommerlath had joined Germany's Nazi party in 1934 and took over Efim Wechsler's consumer goods company under unclear circumstances in 1939.
But in yesterday's report, World War II expert Erik Norberg said documents indicate that just before the outbreak of World War II Sommerlath helped Wechsler escape Germany to South America, where he had offered him a coffee plantation and other assets in exchange for the company.
Norberg said the offer was "clearly an attractive one," because the exclusion of Jews from business life in Germany meant he could not take his assets with him.
However, other researchers have questioned the nobility of Sommerlath's actions, as he too gained from the deal.
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