Her Father's Involvement With The German Nazi Party
In 2002, the Queen became the unwelcome subject of international curiosity when an article published in the syndicalist newspaper Arbetaren in reported that German state archives record that the queen's father, Walther Sommerlath, joined the Nazi party's foreign wing, the NSDAP/AO, in 1934, when he was living in Brazil and working for a German steel company. Rumors had long circulated about Sommerlath's life and career during World War II, especially so when his daughter's relationship with the future King of Sweden became known, but until his death in 1990, the businessman denied any connection to the Nazi Party. However, a study of state records further revealed that Sommerlath, in 1938, through the aryanization policies in effect in Germany at the time, became the owner of a steel factory that "produced components for the German war effort, including parts for Panzers, as well as gas masks," according to the Scotsman (20 July 2002). When the revelations about Walther Sommerlath broke in the Swedish press, a palace spokesman said, "The Queen’s father has never been a part of the Royal Family and therefore I have no comment."
In December 2010, she wrote a letter of complaint to Jan Scherman, the CEO of TV4, the network that had aired a documentary about her father's alleged Nazi past. Queen Silvia commissioned a report from World War II expert Erik Norberg, a choice which was criticized due to Norberg having ties to the Royal Family. In his report, Norberg argued that the Queen's father had in fact helped the owner of the steel-fabrication plant, a Jewish businessman, escape from Germany by taking over the factory. In a December 2011 interview for Channel 1 with Sweden's public service broadcaster Sveriges Television, Silvia called media's handling of the information about her father "character assassination".
Read more about this topic: Queen Silvia Of Sweden
Famous quotes containing the words father, involvement, german, nazi and/or party:
““In short, Isabella, since I cannot give you my son, I offer you myself.” -- “Heavens!” cried Isabella ... “what do I hear! You, my lord! You! my father in law! the father of Conrad! the husband of the virtuous and tender Hippolita!” -- “I tell you,” said Manfred imperiously, “Hippolita is no longer my wife; I divorce her from this hour.””
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“It may be tempting to focus on the fact that, even among those who support equality, men’s involvement as fathers remains a far distance from what most women want and most children need. Yet it is also important to acknowledge how far and how fast many men have moved towards a pattern that not long ago virtually all men considered anathema.”
—Katherine Gerson (20th century)
“So far no actual revolutionary masses have come into view. This might be considered sufficient reason for reproaching someone who has set out to describe a revolution. But it is not our fault. This is, after all, a German revolution.”
—Alfred Döblin (1878–1957)
“Time grows dim. Time that was so long
grows short, time, all goggle-eyed,
wiggling her skirts, singing her torch song,
giving the boys a buzz and a ride,
that Nazi Mama with her beer and sauerkraut.
Time, old gal of mine, will soon dim out.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“I never knew anyone yet who got up at six who did anything more useful between that time and breakfast than banging a tennis ball up against the side of the house, waiting for the more civilized members of the party to get up.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)