Coco Chanel Case Study

1650 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Coco channel case study

Section A: Plan of Investigation Between 1940 and 1944, France was occupied by the German Army during World War II. The war saw the emergence of Coco Chanel as a Nazi spy, due to her openly anti-Semitic feelings, independence in business and influence as a couture designer (Vaughan 230). For these qualities she was recruited in to the Abwehr, the German military intelligence organization (134). To determine the extent of Coco Chanel’s involvement in Nazi missions the investigation will examine the following factors; personal relationships with high level officials allowing her elite conduct, her collaborations with Nazis in Paris, the nature of her work for the German military intelligence service and Himmler’s S.S. and did all of these factors designate her as a Nazi spy? Section B: Summary of Evidence Personal Relationships with High Level Officials • Coco Chanel had an intimate relationship with Hans Gunther van Dincklage, a high ranking German official (Vaughan 141). • Dincklage arranged for Chanel to stay at German occupied hotel, The Ritz. Giving her unrestricted access to German Headquarters in France (141). • Romantic ties with the Duke of Westminster (“Coco Chanel”). • Next door neighbor and friend of Fern Bedaux, Nazi collaborator ( Vaughan 151). • Close relationship with British Ambassador to Spain, Sir Samuel Hoare (Samuel). • Chanel was pardoned for her crimes by Winston Churchill (237). • Never formally charged as a collaborator due to Churchill’s intervention (“Coco Chanel”). • Churchill intervened in both her arrest and trial (Samuel). • Spared from a public trial by British Royal family (Walker). Collaborations with Nazis in Paris • One of few civilians living in German Headquarters (Vaughan 141). • Visas for Ch... ... middle of paper ... ...e political and social conflict of Chanel’s involvement has dissolved as new information has been declassified and readers are exposed to the intelligence once only known to government officials. Chanel agreed to work with the Nazi party in pursuit of her nephew’s return to her, not for her own personal beliefs and experience. Section E: Conclusion After Chanel’s two failed missions in sending letters of treaty negotiations she is not accredited with the label as a spy (Vaughan 199). However she is linked to the Nazi party, for her involvement with the Abwehr (134). Chanel is considered proactive in her strategy to recover her nephew. It can be justly claimed that Chanel, although involved in Nazi social circles and ambitions, was not a Nazi spy as she sought to bring peace and the safety of her nephew in her actions and proof of her missions were never recovered.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Claudia Koonz's Mothers In The Fatherland

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    The next text analyzed for this study is the first monograph read for the study, therefore, there is a lot of information that had not been previously discussed by the latter authors: Claudia Koonz 's 1987 text Mothers in the Fatherland. The author begins her text with a Preface where she discusses her interview with Gertrude Scholtz-Klink, the leader of the Women 's Labor Service. While this is not the first time in the study that Scholtz-Klink 's name appears, but Koonz 's discussion of the interview personifies Scholtz-Klink, rather than just make her a two-dimensional character in historical research. For the first time in this study, the reader can understand the reasoning some people (right or wrong) sided with the Nazi Party. The interview

    Read More

  • Elie Wiesel's Night

    438 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Elie Wiesel’s Night, he recounts his horrifying experiences as a Jewish boy under Nazi control. His words are strong and his message clear. Wiesel uses themes such as hunger and death to vividly display his days during World War II. Wiesel’s main purpose is to describe to the reader the horrifying scenes and feelings he suffered through as a repressed Jew. His tone and diction are powerful for this subject and envelope the reader. Young readers today find the actions of Nazis almost unimaginable. This book more than sufficiently portrays the era in the words of a victim himself.

    Read More

  • Simon Wiesenthal: The Nazi Hunter

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Nazi Hunting: Simon Wiesenthal.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2014

    Read More

  • A Bright Room Called Day Analysis

    1634 Words  | 4 Pages

    It reminds the audience that while no one could likely ever be as evil as Hitler, history has a way of repeating itself. We are urged to pick our leaders carefully, to take interest in politics and choose are affiliations well. Most importantly, Tony Kushner is trying to call us to action in this play. He urges each and every audience member to avoid the pit falls of complacency as Agnes succumbs to in the play. To take no stance at all is not to be untouched, as Agnes had seen many of her friends leave as a result, but to remain stagnant, to be haunted by your fears and regrets, and to die with no one to remember you. Tony Kushner’s warning serves equally well, whether you are from 1930’s Berlin or 1980’s New York, or even if you are from 2016 Elizabethtown

    Read More

  • Night by Elie Wiesel and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    The chaos and destruction that the Nazi’s are causing are not changing the lives of only Jews, but also the lives of citizens in other countries. Between Night by Elie Wiesel and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, comradeship, faith, strength, and people of visions are crucial to the survival of principle characters. Ironically, in both stories there is a foreseen future, that both seemed to be ignored.

    Read More

  • The Capricious Camera

    2721 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...saw the image as artistic, subsequent events compel us to try and see the image of the Polish girl with Nazis as journalism. In this endeavor, we must uncover as much as possible about the surrounding context. As much as we can, we need to know this girl's particular story. Without a name, date, place, or relevant data, this girl would fall even further backwards into the chapters of unrecorded history.

    Read More

  • Anne Frank Remembered: Review

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    of the hiding of Jews such as the Frank family, the Van Daan family, and Dr.

    Read More

  • Three Aspects of Night by Elie Wiesel

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    The mood of Night is harder to interpret. Many different responses have occurred in readers after their perusal of this novel. Those that doubt the stories of the holocaust’s reality see Night as lies and propaganda designed to further the myth of the holocaust. Yet, for those people believing in the reality, the feelings proffered by the book are quite different. Many feel outrage at the extent of human maliciousness towards other humans. Others experience pity for the loss of family, friends, and self that is felt by the holocaust victims. Some encounter disgust as the realization occurs that if any one opportunity had been utilized the horror could of been avoided. Those missed moments such as fleeing when first warned by Moshe the Beadle, or unblocking the window when the Hungarian officer had come to warn them, would have saved lives and pain.

    Read More

  • Why did the Nazis Never Face the Threat of Serious Rebellion on a National Scale in Germany Between 1933 and 1945?

    1792 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hall, Claire M. An Army of Spies? The Gestapo Spy Network 1933-45, Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Apr., 2009)

    Read More

  • The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum

    2840 Words  | 6 Pages

    “As a writer of fiction Böll was interpreting history, creating patterns of meaning, ordering his material to enable his reader to make sense of it.” The experiences of Böll and his values that arose from these events have been influential on the content and themes of Böll’s novel, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum. Böll experienced both the first and second world wars and the effects that these wars had on German society. Events such as the economic collapse in Germany post WWII, the construction of the Berlin Wall, the rise of student based urban terrorism in West Germany in the 1970’s and the increasing state controls to contain such alleged threats can be seen to influence the issues explored in The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum. The novel is a comment on the press and the law, the labyrinth of social truth, the collision of fact and fiction and the power of language. Böll himself experienced the press first hand and this along with the experiences of Professor Bruckner, form the basis of his criticism directed at the powerful and hegemonic structures in society, in particular in relation to the police and the press and their corrupt relationship in the novella. Many of Heinrich Böll s views and attitudes, resulting form his context, are clearly visible in the novella through the portrayal of certain characters in positive or negative lights. The historical, social, economic and political context of Böll and West Germany at this time (1900’s) had a considerable effect on the issues Böll delves into in The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum and greatly affected my understanding of the novel.

    Read More

  • Kristallnacht: A Night Of Terror And Destruction

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    An assassination attempt on a diplomat was the catalyst of Kristallnacht and the justification for this attempt was out of loyalty. Seventeen-year-old Herschel Grynszpan, a Polish Jew, wanted to seek vengeance for his family and about 12,000 other Jews that had been expelled from Germany. Many tried to gain entry in Poland, but the government hesitated to give out permits. After his sister had sent him a postcard from Zbasyn, a Polish border village, requesting money, he bought a pistol. On November 7th, 1938, he gained entry into the German Embassy in Paris by telling the doorman that he had an "important document" (Gilbert, Kristallnacht: Prelude to Destruction) to deliver. His target: the German Ambassador to France; however the only diplomat present was Ernst von Roth, Third Secretary. After he had entered von Roth's office, he shot at him, critically wounding ...

    Read More

  • The Power of Words in Markus Zusak´s The Book Thief

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    “’Is my mother a communist?’ Staring. Straight ahead. ‘They were always asking her things, before I came here.’ … ‘Did the Fuhrer take her away?’ … ‘I knew it.’ The words were thrown at the steps and Liesel could feel the slush of anger stirring hotly in her stomach. ‘I hate the Fuhrer’ she said. ‘I hate him.’” (115)

    Read More

  • Anti-Semitism and How it Led to Hitler Choosing the Jews

    1884 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...sdropping on Hell” Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust, 1939-1945, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Elie Wiesel's Night

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tragedies of the holocaust forever altered history. One of the most detailed accounts of the horrific events from the Nazi regime comes from Elie Wiesel’s Night. He describes his traumatic experiences in German concentration camps, mainly Buchenwald, and engages his readers from a victim’s point of view. He bravely shares the grotesque visions that are permanently ingrained in his mind. His autobiography gives readers vivid, unforgettable, and shocking images of the past. It is beneficial that Wiesel published this, if he had not the world might not have known the extent of the Nazis reign. He exposes the cruelty of man, and the misuse of power. Through a lifetime of tragedy, Elie Wiesel struggled internally to resurrect his religious beliefs as well as his hatred for the human race. He shares these emotions to the world through Night.

    Read More

  • The Holocaust: The Mass Extermination Of Jews At Auschwitz

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main focus of the post war testimony of Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Hoess, Commandant at Auschwitz from May 1940 until December, 1943, is the mass extermination of Jews during World War II. His signed affidavit had a profound impact at the Post-War trials of Major War Criminals held at Nuremburg from November 14, 1945 to October 1, 1946. His testimony is a primary source that details and describes his personal account of the timeline, who ordered Auschwitz to become a death camp, and the means used to execute and exterminate millions of Jews. Obtained while tortured nearly to death under British custody, the authenticity and reliability of this document is questioned due to arguable inconsistencies that exist. However, the events sworn to in his testimony have been recounted and corroborated by witnesses and thousands of survivors.

    Read More

More about Coco Chanel Case Study

Open Document