Review (PDF) Hitler's Spy Princess: The Extraordinary Lifeof Princess Stephanie Von Hohenlohe
Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe (1891-1972) was an unofficial go-between at the highest level of international politics, conveying secret messages and setting up meetings involving Hitler, Goering, Lord Halifax, Lord Rothermere, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and, later, US Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Yet her origins were far from aristocratic. The illegitimate daughter of a Jewish woman from Prague and a Jewish moneylender, Stephanie always claimed to be of pure Aryan descent. A shameless social climber, she had a child by the Emperor¦s son-in-law and acquired her title by marriage to another Austro-Hungarian prince. Employed by Lord Rothermere, her most important assignment was to bring Rothermere and Adolf Hitler together. Hitler awarded her the Gold Medal of the Nazi Party, a unique honor for any woman, let alone one generally known to be Jewish. Divorced since 1920, Stephanie had conducted a string of affaires with rich and influential men. In 1937 she began an intense relationship with Fritz Wiedemann, Hitler's adjutant. When Hitler learned of this he dispatched Wiedemann to the post of Consul-General in San Francisco, where Stephanie joined him in 1939. In 1941, she managed to avoid being deported as a spy by seducing the head of the US immigration authority. After the war, Stephanie began a completely new career as a journalist for several publications including Axel Springer's Stern magazine, for whom she secured the Kennedy and Johnson interviews.
Hardcover: 235 pages
Publisher: Sutton Publishing (August 5, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0750935146
ISBN-13: 978-0750935142
Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.9 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #760,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #179 in Books > History > Military > Canada #645 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Europe > Germany #1012 in Books > History > Military > Intelligence & Espionage
In all the books I have read about WWII and the Nazis, I don't recall ever reading anything about Stephanie Von Hohenlohe. But here she is, all mystery and enigma, meticulously well-documented by author Martha Schad.The story of Princess Von Hohenlohe's life is almost stranger than fiction. She was a Jewish woman (non-practicing) who wormed her way into Hitler's inner social circle and became his close friend and confidant despite warnings to Hitler by top Nazis of her non-Aryan heritage. In fact, she was adept at worming her way into anything that could work to her advantage, starting with the aristocracy and ending by working with some of the most powerful newspapermen in America and in post-war Germany. She could also worm her way out of almost any predicament and went through lovers like someone with diarrhea goes through toilet paper.A friend loaned me this book with hearty recommendations, but after reading the summary inside the dustcover, I almost took a pass. But as I told him I would read it, I finally did. What I discovered in the Princess was a scheming semen-sponge who had chutzpah by the ton. It took nerve enough for her as a Jewish woman to hang out with Hitler and assorted Nazis, it took nerves of steel to be all things to all people while oblivious to any real danger to herself. I wouldn't say she was a spy, I'd say she was a brazen social climber whose loyalties were situational. And she continued that right up to her death. Witness how she began her time in America!History is studied in our schools focusing on the big picture and on events which prove to be turning points. But it is driven by millions of almost faceless individuals, some of whom make unheralded contributions that just might have changed how events eventually work out.
This is a review of HITLER'S SPY PRINCESS: THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF STEPHANIE VON HOHENLOHE by Martha Schad. Mine is the first English language edition published in 2004 by Sutton in the UK. Martha Schad is well-known, successful freelance historian and author whose previous works include WOMEN AGAINST HITLER and KING LUDWIG II OF BAVARIA. The English edition is translated from the original German by Angus McGeoch.I found his translation to be smooth and readable. This book includes illustrations, endnotes, an index and some fascinating appendices including letters from Adolf Hitler, Crown Prince Wilhelm and Princess Stephanie herself. Considering the number of prominent men who fell to her charms, I was a bit disappointed to see from the photographs that Princess Stephanie didn't look at all like Angelina Jolie or some other superstar. Perhaps she was one of those ladies who just didn't photograph well?At any rate, she cut a swath through Europe and America that would embarass Ian Fleming's fictional Commander James Bond. And she was, herself, the daughter of Jewish commoners! I don't know how Hollywood missed her and her story.She consorted with the crowned heads of Europe becoming a Princess along the way and then moved into the 20s and 30s where she met and mastered virtually every leader in Europe. When she ended up in the US in 1940, she seduced the head of the US immigration service to avoid being kicked out of the country by J. Edgar Hoover, thus confirming suspicions of Hoover's homosexuality since he seemed to be the only top ranking official who remained immune to her charms.I don't think "Her Serene Highness", as the British called her, had any deep-seated political agenda.
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