The Duke and Duchess of Windsor famously ingratiated themselves with Adolf Hitler, and counted prominent Nazis among their closest friends in the years leading up to the Second World War. Now, newly declassified files reveal that the couple’s links to the Third Reich led to moves to ban them from returning to their beloved France at the end of the conflict in 1945. The Foreign Office papers, obtained by this newspaper under Freedom of Information laws, show that the French government was shocked when Winston Churchill suggested the couple, who had spent most of the war in the Bahamas, should eventually be allowed to return to their former home on the Cote d’Azur. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor famously ingratiated themselves with Adolf Hitler. Now, newly declassified files reveal that the couples links to the Third Reich led to moves to ban them from returning to their beloved France at the end of the 1945 conflict +8 The Duke and Duchess of Windsor famously ingratiated themselves with Adolf Hitler. Now, newly declassified files reveal that the couples links to the Third Reich led to moves to ban them from returning to their beloved France at the end of the 1945 conflict Officials in the new Paris government, who had supported the Resistance, feared the couple would renew their ‘acquaintances’ with Nazi sympathisers who had collaborated with the pro-Nazi Vichy regime. The puppet government controlled most of France between 1940 and 1944. Rene Massigli, the newly appointed French ambassador to London, warned Churchill that the couple’s return would be both ‘embarrassing’ and problematic for a country still bitterly divided. More... Princess Anne clashes with the Prince of Wales over GM crops as she admits they have a role to play in feeding the world The bombshell court document that claims Prince Andrew knew about billionaire friends abuse of under-age girls Oliver Harvey, a senior diplomat in the Foreign Office, detailed the ambassador’s concerns in a confidential memo which was drafted on November 8, 1944 – just over two months after the liberation of Paris. He wrote: ‘Monsieur Massigli mentioned to me this afternoon that the Prime Minister had told him that the Duke of Windsor would shortly be relinquishing the Governorship of the Bahamas and that he believed he was anxious to return to the South of France. ‘If that were so, the Prime Minister would presume that conditions there would be suitable for him. ‘Massigli had evidently been somewhat embarrassed at this suggestion and said he felt that in view of the disturbed conditions in France and in view of some of the acquaintances which the Duke and Duchess had had in France, it would really be preferable that they should stay away until the situation had been cleared up. Rene Massigli, the newly appointed French ambassador to London, warned Churchill that the couples return would be both embarrassing and problematic for a country still bitterly divided +8 Rene Massigli, the newly appointed French ambassador to London, warned Churchill that the couples return would be both embarrassing and problematic for a country still bitterly divided ‘What Monsieur Massigli had evidently in mind, although he did not say so, was that he feared that the Duke and Duchess might seek to renew their acquaintance with many who had turned out to be collaborators, and this would cause a most embarrassing situation.’ Anthony Eden, the then Foreign Secretary, was so concerned about the contents of Mr Harvey’s memo that he referred it to Downing Street two days later. The newly installed Free French Government had good grounds to be concerned. The Duke, whose brief reign as King Edward VIII ended when he abdicated in 1936 over his relationship with American divorcee Wallis Simpson, made a visit to Nazi Germany two years before the outbreak of war. Anthony Eden, the then Foreign Secretary, was so concerned about the contents of Mr Harveys memo that he referred it to Downing Street two days later +8 Anthony Eden, the then Foreign Secretary, was so concerned about the contents of Mr Harveys memo that he referred it to Downing Street two days later Accompanied by his new wife, who took the title Duchess of Windsor, the couple were personally greeted by Adolf Hitler in Munich before dining with his deputy Rudolf Hess and paying a visit to a prison camp. The trip, which was highly publicised by the Nazi regime, was organised by Joachim von Ribbentrop, a senior Nazi who is alleged to have had an affair with the Duchess while serving as Germany’s ambassador to Britain in the late 1930s. The trip infuriated Foreign Office staff back in London and confirmed the worst fears of those civil servants who believed the Duke was spying for the Germans and plotting with Hitler to get his throne back. But criticism of the visit seems to have done little to curtail the couple’s fondness for the Nazi regime and some of its supporters. After their wedding in June 1937, the couple set up home in France, dividing their time between their mansion in Paris and the Chateau de la Croe on the Cote d’Azur. They entertained lavishly, and the so-called Windsor Set that grew up around them would include some of France’s richest and most influential people, a great many of whom would turn out to be Nazi sympathisers. The wealthy French industrialist and future collaborator, Charles Bedaux, hosted the couple’s wedding at his palatial home near the city of Tours. He would later entertain the Duke at the Paris Ritz and then pass on details of their conversations to Count Julius von Zech-Burkersroda, the German ambassador in The Hague. During one of their meetings, the Duke is believed to have told Bedaux that the British had found Hitler’s secret plans for the invasion of France. The German High Command subsequently changed its strategy and crushed the French army, which left British forces having to retreat at Dunkirk. Bedaux was later appointed an economic adviser to the Reich and was given responsibility for the liquidation of Jewish businesses in occupied France. The couple pictured in France in 1951. They entertained lavishly, and the so-called Windsor Set that grew up around them would include some of Frances richest and most influential people, a great many of whom would turn out to be Nazi sympathisers +8 The couple pictured in France in 1951. They entertained lavishly, and the so-called Windsor Set that grew up around them would include some of Frances richest and most influential people, a great many of whom would turn out to be Nazi sympathisers He was captured by American forces in Algeria 1943 and died in suspicious circumstances a year later while still in US custody. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s other friends included the motor magnate Louis Renault, the model and film star Corinne Luchaire, and fashion designer Coco Chanel, who also went on to become high-profile collaborators. Renault, who supplied the Germans with more than 34,000 vehicles, died in 1944 while awaiting trial for industrial espionage, while in 1946 Luchaire was sentenced to ‘degradation nationale’, meaning that she was stripped of her legal and civil rights for ten years. She died in 1950, aged 28. Chanel, a virulent anti-Semite, became one of the Duchess’s closest confidantes and is believed to have spied for the Germans. She lived at the Paris Ritz for the duration of the war with her lover Hans Gunther von Dincklage, a German officer with close military intelligence links. Queen Elizabeth is pictured here paying a visit to the Duchess of Windsor during a state visit to France Read more: dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2597791/How-French-begged-Churchill-stop-Edward-Mrs-Simpson-collaborating-Nazis.html#ixzz2y87N4GXi Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 17:57:49 +0000
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