Queen's father 'aided Jew's escape'

Published on Tuesday 9 August 2011 16:16

The father of the queen of Sweden helped at least one Jew escape Hitler's Germany, according to a report commissioned by Queen Silvia in response to 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 Mr Sommerlath had joined Germany's Nazi party in 1934 and took over Efim Wechsler's company under unclear circumstances in 1939.

But in the report, historian Erik Norberg said documents indicate that just before the outbreak of the Second World War Mr Sommerlath helped Mr Wechsler escape to South America, where he had offered him a coffee plantation and other assets for the company.

Mr Norberg said the offer was "clearly an attractive one," because the exclusion of Jews from business life in Germany meant that he could not take his assets with him.

However, other researchers have questioned the nobility of Mr Sommerlath's actions, as he too gained from the deal.