When thinking of the most important designers in history, ones that have left their mark and really changed the fashion industry, it is impossible to not think of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Chanel has impacted the world in such a way that it is impossible to not take Chanel into account when discussing fashion, feminism, and haute couture as a whole. Chanel has ascended to such a level of legendary that she is less of a person and more of a concept, being an inspiration by being remembered as a powerful, fashionable woman that visibly transformed the fashion industry during the early 20th century. That being said, when discussing Chanel, her extremely problematic racist past never seems to be brought up – it seems to be completely unknown to some fashion enthusiasts. Why does this matter? Well, it is necessary to evaluate if a person should be worshipped and be seen as the face of fashion when she was participated in such disgusting actions.
Coco Chanel’s participation in the Nazi party.
How did a high fashion designer become a Nazi spy? With the rise of her career (and the rise of Adolf Hitler), Chanel began to associate with Europe’s high class and elite, counting politicians. In 1933, Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, appointed a spy for the Abwehr, a Nazi intelligence organization. That spy was German aristocrat Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, who worked as a “special attaché” to the German Embassy in Paris. Dincklage worked as a propagandist and agent. Once in Paris, Baron Hans Gunther met Coco Chanel by chance, and became lovers. The two began living together in the Ritz Hotel in Paris. This relationship gave Chanel the political influences for her to remain unaffected by the Nazi invasion in Paris and even gave her the opportunity to reclaim a lost branch of her brand.
There are conflicting perspectives onto whether Chanel was an anti- Semite or not. Some sources state that Chanel was not an anti – Semite and she only joined the Nazi forces for personal reasons. Other sources state the opposite, that Chanel frequently made racist comments and was open to her Jewish hatred. The French editor in Chief of Marie Claire states in historian Hal Vaughn’s book Sleeping with the Enemy that “Chanel’s anti-Semitism was not only verbal; but passionate, demoded, and often embarrassing.” Chanel did have problems with a certain powerful Jewish family; the Wertheimers. Years before, Jewish businessman Pierre Wertheimer gave Chanel the economic backing to expand her brand, but by doing this Wertheimer left Chanel with only 10% of the profits. Feeling cheating, Chanel fought to regain control via lawsuits but repeatedly failed. With the “Aryanization” laws passed in Germany in the 1930s, Jews could not own any businesses – Chanel saw this as an opportunity to kick Wertheimer out and regain her lost power. Sadly, Chanel failed again, as Wertheimer before fleeing to America transferred the business to a non- Jewish friend named Félix Amiot who sold arms to the Nazis. Although not confirmed, this can be interpreted as one of the reasons Chanel aided the Nazi party in France.
Chanel also became involved in the Nazi party for personal reasons, regarding the imprisonment of her nephew André Palasse, who was imprisoned in a German stalag in 1940. Dincklage introduced Chanel to another Nazi agent, Baron Louis de Vaufreland. Vaufreland allegedly promised to help Chanel free her nephew in exchange for her service to Berlin. In 1941, Chanel began officially working as a Nazi spy for the Abwehr. Journalist Tony Todd reveals that “…Chanel operated under the codename “Westminster” – a reference to an affair she had with Britain’s Duke of Westminster in the 1920s – and had the Abwehr (German military intelligence) number F-7124.” One of Chanel’s first operations was to travel to Madrid with Vaufreland to obtain political information. After carrying out the operation to such extent that the Abwehr supervisors were impressed enough to release her nephew Palasse.
Considerably one of the most important operations Chanel worked on was “Operation Modellhut" (German for "model hat") in 1944. With the war at its peak, Operation Modellhut had the objective of negotiating with Britain a peace treaty. As mentioned beforehand, Chanel had various connections to the elite, counting politicians – for example, English prime minister Winston Churchill. In Operation Modellhut, SS Leader Heinrich Himmler’s aide, General Walter Schellenberg, and Chanel used her connections with Churchill to travel once again to Madrid with her partner Dincklage and give Churchill a letter, with the help of her close friend Vera Lombardi.
Lombardi was a distant relative of the Queen, and through her Chanel was able to form connections with the British aristocracy in the first place. Lombardi became Chanel’s brand ambassador in Britain. At the time, Lombardi was under arrest in Rome on charges of spying. With Germany’s request, Lombardi was released and accompanied Chanel. Lombardi had the task of going to the British Embassy located in Madrid and dropping off the letter; instead, Lombardi went to the Embassy and exposed Chanel and Schellenberg as Nazi spies. Lombardi was then taken back into custody, and Chanel returned safely to Paris, although after the war she fled to Switzerland in order to avoid being persecuted as a war criminal.
Chanel never suffered any ramifications for her actions. She attended court but was acquitted thanks to Winston Churchill’s influence, and she took matters into her own hands by eliminating any evidence she worked with the Germans during the war. When General Schellenberg was on his death bed, Chanel paid his medical bills and supported him and his family financially; Schellenberg later published a memoir that had no mention of her involvement as an agent. Chanel continued living her life as a successful designer and socialite before dying peacefully in 1974.
Ethical implications
This opens up the discussion and makes fashion enthusiasts everywhere question if we can separate art from the artists, or in this case, designs from the designer. Personally, I believe it is possible to appreciate Chanel as a person that changed the fashion industry and set a positive example for women, but you should not ignore her past. Chanel has been elevated and become an untouchable figure in fashion. Everyone loves Coco Chanel. How couldn’t you? She’s Coco Chanel! A legend, a gamechanger!
Chanel may have been those things, but Chanel was also a Nazi. Should a former Nazi be remembered in such a positive light, when thousands of other positive, unproblematic designers are completely forgotten? As Chanel is loved, she should she equally criticized. I’m not saying people should boycott Chanel and completely forget her, but it’s important to not blindly love someone and ignore the truth.