Coco Chanel’s Secret Life As A Nazi Agent

Declassified archival documents revealed that Coco Chanel was a Nazi spy. She was an agent in the German military intelligence, the Abwehr. Chanel went on missions for Germany during World War II. It was believed that she sympathized the Nazis.

Channel’s connection to the Nazis began with a love affair with Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage. Dincklage was appointed a “special attaché” to the German Embassy in Paris in 1933. Channel and Dincklage fell in love and moved together to Paris’ Ritz Hotel. In 1940, Germans occupied Paris. Chanel saw an opportunity to deal with her personal matters. She wanted to release her nephew from prison. Also, Channel tried to bring back the ownership of her business. In 1924, she was looking for expanding her business but she needed financial backing. Jewish businessmen Wertheimers provided her with money. But they took the majority of the stock for themselves. They left her with a 10 percent stake in her own company. In 1940, Chanel appealed to the Nazis for control of her business. Dincklage introduced Chanel to an Abwehr agent. He promised to help with her nephew in exchange for her service to Berlin. In 1941, she was enlisted as Agent F-7124, with the code name of "Westminster". Chanel was tasked to obtain political information in Madrid. She traveled to Spain for a few months during 1941. Chanel’s interactions in Madrid were enough for the Abwehr to release her nephew. Though her connections to the Nazis didn’t help her to bring her company back. The German law made it impossible for any Jew to own a business. But the Wertheimers sold the company to a non-Jewish businessman and fled to America. This made Chanel unable to legally obtain control of her business. In 1943, Chanel was involved in a mission called Operation Modellhut ('Operation Model Hat'). She was to deliver a letter to Winston Churchill. In this letter, the Third Reich attempted peace with the Allies. Chanel took a trip to Madrid with Dinklage to accomplish her mission. But Chanel was denounced as a Nazi spy and the mission failed. In 1944, French Forces reclaimed Paris from the Germans. Chanel was taken in for questioning but soon was released. She fled to Switzerland returning to France only a few years later. Chanel was never prosecuted for her collaboration with the Germans.

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