- Summary
- "Susan Ronald, acclaimed author of Hitler's Art Thief takes readers into the shadowy world of the aristocrats and business leaders on both sides of the Atlantic who secretly aided Hitler and Nazi Germany. Hitler said, "I am convinced that propaganda is an essential means to achieve one's aims." Enlisting Europe's aristocracy, international industrialists, and the political elite in Britain and America, Hitler spun a treacherous tale everyone wanted to believe: he was a man of peace. Central to his deception was an international high society Black Widow, Princess Stephanie Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, whom Hitler called "his dear princess." She, and others, conspired for Hitler at the highest levels of the British aristocracy and spread their web to America's wealthy powerbrokers. Hitler's aristocrats became his eyes, listening posts, and mouthpieces in the drawing rooms, cocktail parties, and weekend retreats of Europe and America. Among these "gentlemen spies" and "ladies of mystery" were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Lady Nancy Astor, Charles Lindbergh, and two of the Mitford sisters. They were the trusted voices disseminating his political and cultural propaganda about the "New Germany," brushing aside the Nazis' atrocities. Distrustful of his own Foreign Ministry, Hitler used his aristocrats to open the right doors in Great Britain and the United States, creating a formidable fifth column within government and financial circles. In a tale of drama and intrigue, Hitler's Aristocrats uncovers the battle between these influencers and those who heroically opposed them"-- Provided by publisher.
- Variant Title
- Secret power players in Britain and America who supported the Nazis, 1923-1941
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- Ronald, Susan, author.
- Published
- New York, NY : St. Martin's Press, an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2023
©2023
- Locale
- Germany
Great Britain
United States
- Edition
- First edition
- Contents
-
Prologue
Part I: The magic weavers. Chaos ; The "big lie" ; The alchemists ; "Brideshead" ; Duplicitous émigrés ; America and the finance wizards ; The gambler and propagandist
Part II: A tapestry of lies. Hope and renewal ; Winds of change ; Charade ; The wounded giant ; Saluting Hitler ; "His lordship's ambassadress" ; "Hurrah for the blackshirts!" ; Corralling the malcontents ; Men on white horses ; Hitler's "listening posts" ; Man of peace ; Party day propaganda
Part III: Juggernaut. Inevitability of war ; Upping the ante ; Olympians and titans ; Fifth columnists ; Dashed dreams ; The boiling cauldron ; Appeasement ; Espionage ; Secret maneuvers ; Swapping horses midstream
Part IV: The unraveling. Fall from grace ; Last throw of the dice ; The exiles ; The American dimension ; Mysteries within an enigma ; "Willi" ; Herding cats ; Pearl Harbor
Epilogue
Appendix I: Letter from Fritz Wiedemann to Lord Rothermere
Appendix II: Tricycle's American questionnaire
Appendix III: HO 382/250 Princess Stephanie's home office file assessed.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Prologue -- Part I: The magic weavers. Chaos ; The "big lie" ; The alchemists ; "Brideshead" ; Duplicitous émigrés ; America and the finance wizards ; The gambler and propagandist -- Part II: A tapestry of lies. Hope and renewal ; Winds of change ; Charade ; The wounded giant ; Saluting Hitler ; "His lordship's ambassadress" ; "Hurrah for the blackshirts!" ; Corralling the malcontents ; Men on white horses ; Hitler's "listening posts" ; Man of peace ; Party day propaganda -- Part III: Juggernaut. Inevitability of war ; Upping the ante ; Olympians and titans ; Fifth columnists ; Dashed dreams ; The boiling cauldron ; Appeasement ; Espionage ; Secret maneuvers ; Swapping horses midstream -- Part IV: The unraveling. Fall from grace ; Last throw of the dice ; The exiles ; The American dimension ; Mysteries within an enigma ; "Willi" ; Herding cats ; Pearl Harbor -- Epilogue -- Appendix I: Letter from Fritz Wiedemann to Lord Rothermere -- Appendix II: Tricycle's American questionnaire -- Appendix III: HO 382/250 Princess Stephanie's home office file assessed.
