Stephanie von Hohenlohe

Who was Stephanie von Hohenlohe?

Stephanie Julianne von Hohenlohe, born Stephany Julienne Richter, is notable for having been a spy for Nazi Germany during the 1930s in Great Britain and Europe. Reportedly Jewish by birth, and a member of a German princely family by marriage, she developed close connections among the Nazi hierarchy, including Adolf Hitler. She also developed other influential relationships, including with Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, and promoted British support for Germany while living in London from 1932. The British, French and Americans all suspected her of being a spy for the German Government. During the 1930s, she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Nazi Party for her services.

Fleeing from Britain to San Francisco in 1939 after war was declared, the US put her under surveillance. After the attack on Pearl Harbor she was arrested by the FBI and interned in the United States as an enemy alien. She provided information to the Office of Strategic Services which was used in a 1943 report on the personality of Adolf Hitler. In May 1945 she was released on parole and returned to Germany, where she cultivated influential connections in post-war German society.