Posted on 03/25/2006 3:11:13 PM PST by freedom44
Prince Philip has broken a 60-year public silence about his family's links with the Nazis.
In a frank interview, he said they found Hitler's attempts to restore Germany's power and prestige 'attractive' and admitted they had 'inhibitions about the Jews'.
The revelations come in a book about German royalty kowtowing to the Nazis, which features photographs never published in the UK.
They include one of Philip aged 16 at the 1937 funeral of his elder sister Cecile, flanked by relatives in SS and Brownshirt uniforms.
One row back in the cortege in Darmstadt, western Germany, was his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, wearing a Royal Navy bicorn hat.
Another picture shows his youngest sister, Sophia, sitting opposite Hitler at the wedding of Hermann and Emmy Goering.
Explaining the attraction of the Nazis, 84-year-old Prince Philip told an American academic: "There was a great improvement in things like trains running on time and building. There was a sense of hope after the depressing chaos of the Weimar Republic.
"I can understand people latching on to something or somebody who appeared to be appealing to their patriotism and trying to get things going. You can understand how attractive it was."
The revelations are in the book Royals and the Reich
He added that there was 'a lot of enthusiasm for the Nazis at the time, the economy was good, we were anti-Communist and who knew what was going to happen to the regime?'
Philip stressed that he was never 'conscious of anybody in the family actually expressing anti-Semitic views'. But he went on to say there were 'inhibitions about the Jews' and 'jealousy of their success'.
Philip was born Prince of Greece and Denmark on Corfu in 1921, the youngest of five children and the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. All four of his sisters married German princes and three - Sophie, Cecile and Margarita - became members of the Nazi party.
Sophia's husband, Prince Christoph of Hesse, became chief of Goering's secret intelligence service and they were frequent guests at Nazi functions.
Philip went on to fight with distinction for the Allies in the Second World War before marrying the young Princess Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became Queen. He served with the Royal Navy where, by 1945, he had risen to the rank of first lieutenant on a destroyer and was mentioned in despatches.
All of his sisters and brothers-inlaw are now dead but he keeps in contact with his German relatives.
His comments on the family's Nazi connections appear in Royals and the Reich, by Jonathan Petropoulos, to be published in Britain in May.
I have never heard this slander either. Mrs. Simpson was an American divorcee. Which was worse in English society at the time - being an American, or a divorcee - is debatable.
The book about her was on sale in fine book stores everywhere. Like I said, it is not slander if it is true. They included a photo of her in an Asian brothel. She was twice divorced.
As far as the person the king marries, she has to be a Protestant by law.
I believe I have seen published photos showing President Bush at a funeral standing near the Clintons.
Some things about Germany versus England are very strange indeed. R. Hess was called a fake when he was "released." X-rays of the liberated Hess failed to show serious wounds he had when he was in combat. Also, he did not seem to know his son, as I recall.
Hitler was very good about getting what he wanted without fighting. There was a definite claque in England that sided with Hitler. I don't mean just Joe Kennedy. Native Britons.
The Brits hailed Nelville Chamberlain for "peace in our time."
I think the whole story is quite complicated. It is a good thing Winston Churchill was there to lead when the time came.
I understood that that was what you meant. I had the same thought.
Agreed, it's not slander if true. I have never seen this photo nor heard this tidbit of info.
Do you remember the title by any chance? I'm like a moth drawn to flame in reading this stuff about the Royals. It's like chocolate late at night! LOL
LibFree didn't tell ANYone to stop stating their opinion. Is this a game of "telephone"?
In the 1930's, the roayl family was wealthy and well-respected. I cannot imagine that they would have been envious of Jewish success. That makes no sense.
It WOULD make sense if one were talking about British aristocracy, which started to fall on hard times in the 30's due to not having sources of income other than investments and their estates.
Churchill was THE Man of the 20th Century, IMO.
Well, also, it was his sister's funeral.
Are you the thread nanny here too?
Prince Philip was not a member of the British royal family until 1948 so he was likely only speaking about his comparatively minor family and other nobles, not the Windsors.
It's as old as time and has many many ugly faces.
There is no justification for bigotry.
I did see that that movie was repeat on local PBS station just few months ago
"No mention of Joe Kennedy, who served as ambassador to britain and told FDR we should support Hitler? Gee, why not?"
Well, there's no mention of Prescott Bush doing business with Nazis either (at least until now!).
Thank you.
Using that logic, the Joseph Kennedy, Sr., a Nazi sympathizer is buried at Arlington...
The monarchy in Britain serves the same purpose as the Hollywood left does here.
Or Pres. George H. W. Bush bowing to Hirohito's coffin.
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