“If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.” — Coco Chanel
An exhaustive investigation revealed the “secret identity” of Gabrielle Bonheur (Coco Chanel) as a Nazi spy. The documents discovered connections between the German leader Adolf Hitler and the controversial fashion designer during World War II.
Coco Chanel is one of the most outstanding and important fashion designers of the XX century. She was a driven woman who knew she could get what she wanted, and nothing could stop her. Time Magazine included her in its list of the hundred most influential people of the twentieth century for her contributions to the fashion industry.
During World War I, Chanel was the most prolific fashion house. She used jersey cloth and adapted it to fit simple garment designs, which established a new trend that was far from the complicated dresses from La Belle Époque. After her success with these garments, she began to design purses, perfumes, and jewelry.
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening,”
Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel Nazi Agent, written by Hal Vaughan in 2013, addresses different moments of her life, focusing on the period between 1941 and 1954. Vaughan mentions how the designer became a Nazi spy and worked under the alias of Westminster. Chanel never hid her anti-Semitism and this investigation sustains the rumors of her involvement with the Third Reich.
Private aspects of her life are exposed in Hal Vaughan’s book, for example, her relationship with the married Count of Westminster. Rumor has it that the Count helped finance her first shop, and so she began her journey to become the biggest fashion designer. Vaughan’s narrative also details her romance with the Nazi officer Hans Günther von Dincklage. They met in France, and he helped her arrange her stay at the Ritz Hotel. At the moment, the Ritz was a noteworthy residence of top German military staff. Von Dincklage also helped her nephew Gabriel escape from France.
As a result of this affair, she was enlisted in spy missions as an agent of the German F-7124, and traveled to Madrid and Berlin. She also served under the orders of Walter Schellenberg (the closest professional confidant of Heinrich L. Himmler.)
Her controversial and ostentatious lifestyle during the Nazi occupation in France raised questions among the Parisian society. Her relationship with von Dicklage didn’t help her ease those rumors. Chanel wouldn’t be the first public figure to be linked with the Nazi regime. However, her relationship with the Third Reich is debatable because many of the documents which could prove her involvement as a spy have been destroyed, and the ones that exist are not 100% conclusive.
People don’t want to believe that such a driven woman could have participated in one of the darkest moments of history. The readers will have to decide from themselves if Chanel is guilty or innocent.
