Hitler’s Dear Princess And a Nazi Spy — Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe
Stephanie influenced major events at the start of World War II. The FBI regarded her as the most dangerous Nazi spy equivalent to 10,000 men.
She was a princess by title and moved among the elites of Europe with ease.
She had the ears of the British aristocracy, parliamentarians, and, most importantly, the ears of Hitler. America’s security agency the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described her as equivalent to 10.000 men and feared she could make a significant impact in World War II if used effectively. Her name was Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe, but Hitler called her Dear Princess.
How She became Princess:
Stephanie was born to a Jewish family in Prague. She grew up to be a talent and center of attraction in any gathering.
Stephanie and Prince Friedrich Franz von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst were engaged in a relationship. Their marriage got her the royal title of Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe.
The couple divorced soon, but Stephanie retained the title. Stephanie moved along the European monarchy and attended parties of high society and had friends in both British and German monarchies.
During the First World War, she worked as a field nurse in the Austrian army and moved along the war front with her maid. After the war, she moved to Nice, France. She came in a relationship with John Warden, one of the largest stakeholders in Standard Oil, USA.
Stephanie and Lord Rothermere:
Stephanie came in contact with Lord Rothermere in Monte Carlo and developed a mutual admiration. Lord Rothermere was the third richest man in Britain and was the owner of the Daily Mail newspaper.
Stephanie influenced Rothermere to write an article in Daily Mail that Germany received harsh terms in the Versailles treaty. Lord Rothermere was a pro-monarchist and wanted to establish the Hungarian monarchy to tackle the rise of communism in Europe. A group of pro-monarchists even approached Rothermere to fund the cause and named him as the heir to Hungarian crown.
Meanwhile, Stephanie campaigned for the return of the regions captured by France from Germany in WWI. Rothermere funded this campaign by giving 300,000 pounds to Stephanie.
The British intelligence agency MI-6 leaked the plot to French intelligence, which in turn, leaked it to the French press. Due to opposition mounted on her, Stephanie moved to London under the salary of 5,000 pounds per month from Rothermere.
She got support from Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German ambassador to Britain. She even had contact with Prince Edward, the future king of England.
Hitler’s Friendship:
In the 1930s as the Nazi party grew and Rothermere asked Stephanie to establish contact with Hitler.
Stephanie became the lover of Captain Fritz Wiedemann, the personal assistant to Hitler. Through Wiedemann, Stephanie was able to contact Hitler.
Stephanie quickly attracted Hitler’s attention, and Hitler was informed about Rothermere’s intention to help the Nazi Party. Rothermere, via Stephanie, sent expensive gifts to Hitler to gain his confidence.
Stephanie hosted a dinner meeting between Rothermere and Hitler attended by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s second-in-command Herman Goering, and future foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. Rothermere and Stephanie met Hitler in his alpine retreat of Eagle’s Nest or Berchtesgaden , which was a rare invite for a British citizen.
Hitler was impressed by Stephanie and gave her the Schloss Leopoldskron. The Nazi Party confiscated the castle from Max Reinhardt, who fled from Austria due to the persecution of Jews.
Schloss Leopoldskron became a pivotal point in German aggression policy. Stephanie visited the USA in 1937, and US newspapers claimed her to be a Nazi spy. She met the German American Bund (a Nazi Party arm) in the USA and garnished support for the war, which will start in a few months.
After her return to Europe, she arranged a secret meeting between Lord Halifax, foreign secretary of Britain, and Fritz Wiedemann; Hitler’s adjutant, which caused a huge outrage when known to the public. France was not happy as it thought Britain tried to sue peace with Germany behind its back.
As tensions grew between Germany and Czech, In 1939, Lord Walter Runciman; a prominent British politician, was sent to the Sudentenland; a region of Czechoslovakia Hitler wanted to seize, to analyze the situation. Lord Runciman stayed at Schloss Leopolskron and got heavily influenced by Stephanie and wrote back to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlian that the sentiment of people in the Sudentenland is to join Germany.
Based on this report, Britain agreed to accept the Munich Agreement to cede the Sudentenland to Germany with a clause that Germany won’t invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. Hitler signed the deal and broke it in a few months.
Break Up:
Stephanie’s connections with Hitler also broke. Hitler found out that Stephanie was a Jew and removed her from his inner circle.
Stephanie and Wiedemann opposed Hitler’s decision to invade Czech. The opposition got them on the wrong foot with Hitler. Wiedemann got transferred to San Fransico, USA, as the German consul.
Stephaine moved to London, but Lord Rothermere refused to pay her allowance. Stephaine went to court and lost the case but received a handsome pay from Rothermere and moved to the USA.
In the USA, she met Wiedemann, and both were under the watchful eyes of the FBI. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Stephanie got transferred to an internment camp.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D-New York) personally urged J Edward Hoover, the FBI director, to deport Stephanie. However, a judicial committee overturned her deportation.
Stephanie was used by the FBI to perform a psychoanalysis on Hitler. The psychoanalysis predicted Hitler would commit suicide if Germany lost. Stephanie continued her work as a journalist in the USA.
After World War II, Stephanie returned to Europe and reestablished her contacts with Wiedemann and wrote a book for him. Stephanie died in Geneva in 1972
Stephanie’s talent to persuade Britain to accept the annexation of Sudetenland had a lasting impact on World history. Stephanie was so close to Hitler that she was the only person who can convince Hitler to back down on his decisions.
Stephanie helped the Nazi party to garnish monetary benefits from British aristocrats which helped the Nazi party to gain power and start World War II. No doubt the FBI called her the most dangerous Nazi spy.
Source: Nazi Princess: Hitler, Lord Rothermere and Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe - Jim Wilson
