Before the world erupted into the chaos of World War II in 1939, the Nazi Party’s ascent in Germany sent shockwaves through Western societies. While the regime’s anti‑Jewish and expansionist agenda alarmed many, a surprising handful of well‑known figures across the Atlantic and beyond harbored a degree of admiration or sympathy for Adolf Hitler and his movement. In this roundup we examine 10 famous people who, in various ways, showed Nazi sympathies during the turbulent 1930s.
10 famous people and Their Nazi sympathies
10 Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound, a towering modernist poet who rubbed shoulders with the likes of T.S. Eliot and Ernest Hemingway, took a dramatic turn after World I. He settled in Italy, openly defying his native United Kingdom, and threw his support behind Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime. By 1933 he was meeting the Italian dictator, and during the years leading up to and throughout World II he broadcast from Rome Radio, cheering Mussolini and Hitler while lambasting Jews.
When the Allies liberated Italy, Pound was seized, faced treason charges in the United States, and endured a three‑week stint in an outdoor cage before suffering a mental collapse. He famously called Hitler “a saint” to reporters and pleaded for a final broadcast asking for leniency toward Germany. After a 13‑year stay in a U.S. psychiatric hospital, he returned to Italy, still espousing anti‑Jewish views, and died in 1972, leaving a literary heritage that remains celebrated alongside a deeply controversial personal record.
9 Walt Disney
The notion that the mastermind behind the world‑renowned Disney empire might have entertained pro‑Nazi sentiments is both startling and hotly debated. Reports indicate that Disney attended a handful of gatherings in the 1930s that functioned essentially as U.S. Nazi Party meetings. In the era before the full horror of Hitler’s regime became widely known, elite circles in both America and Britain occasionally echoed fascist ideas, and Disney appears to have been among those linked to such events. A book titled Hitler’s Doubles even claims Disney participated in pro‑Nazi meetings prior to the war.
Adding to the controversy, Disney once hosted Leni Riefenstahl—renowned for directing the Nazi propaganda films Olympia and Triumph des Willens—and gave her a studio tour, drawing criticism. Yet Disney also produced anti‑Nazi shorts such as Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi, which muddies the historical picture. The true extent of his Nazi connections may never be definitively resolved.
8 Edward VIII
Edward VIII, perhaps the most recognizable name on this list, combined personal scandal with political intrigue. His 1936 abdication to marry American Wallis Simpson sparked a constitutional crisis, but it also coincided with a close rapport with Adolf Hitler. Hitler reportedly admired Edward, and the king’s abdication was perceived as a blow to the German leader’s hopes of cultivating a friendly British monarch. In 1937 the couple visited Nazi Germany, posing for photographs alongside Hitler.
During World II British officials regarded Edward as a potential threat to democracy, fearing that Hitler might reinstall him if Britain fell. To keep him away from the political arena, he was appointed governor of the Bahamas. Numerous accounts document Edward’s vocal support for Hitler and fascist policies, leading many historians to label both him and his wife as sympathetic to fascism—a contentious legacy for the British monarchy.
7 Henry Ford
Industrial titan Henry Ford revolutionized automobile production with the moving assembly line, but his writings reveal a darker side. In a 1920 interview with the New York World, he denounced what he called the “International Jew,” alleging Jewish conspiracies behind World I. The New York Times later reported that Hitler kept a large portrait of Ford on his office wall, admiring the American magnate. Hitler even mentioned Ford in Mein Kampf, praising him as a “single great man” who remained independent of Jewish influence.
In 1938, a year before the invasion of Poland, Ford received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle—the highest honor a non‑German could attain—making him the sole American recipient. His anti‑Semitic newspaper series, The International Jew, was cited during the Nuremberg Trials as influential Nazi propaganda. Ford passed away in 1947, leaving a legacy of both automotive innovation and controversial political sympathies.
6 Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh vaulted to fame in 1927 when he solo‑flied from New York to Paris, winning the Orteig Prize and becoming an American hero. Tragedy struck in 1932 when his infant son was kidnapped and murdered, a crime that seized the nation’s attention. Yet Lindbergh’s later years are marked by his vocal opposition to U.S. involvement against Nazi Germany and a series of actions that suggested a pro‑German stance.
In June 1936, Lindbergh toured Germany on a U.S. government mission to assess German aviation, sitting near Hitler during the opening of the Berlin Olympics—though he never directly conversed with the Führer. His calls for U.S. neutrality attracted members of the German‑American Bund, a pro‑Nazi organization, to his speeches. While Lindbergh never openly declared Nazi allegiance, his ambiguous position and public statements caused a significant backlash in America.
5 Charles Coughlin
Father Charles Coughlin, a Roman‑Catholic priest, wielded the power of radio in the pre‑war era to reach millions with his fiery sermons. He championed fascist regimes, including the Third Reich, positioning himself as a bulwark against both communism and what he claimed was Jewish control of banking. In November 1938, Coughlin controversially framed the Kristallnacht pogrom as a persecution of Christians, prompting widespread outrage.
After the United States entered the war, Coughlin was silenced by the government, his radio program cancelled and his newspaper Social Justice shut down. Though he denied anti‑Semitic leanings, evidence—including alleged financial support from Nazi Germany—suggests he was sympathetic to Hitler’s cause, and he spent the remainder of his life confined to parish duties.
4 Cliveden Set
The “Cliveden set” referred to a circle of affluent Britons who convened at Cliveden, the Buckinghamshire estate of Nancy and Waldorf Astor, during the inter‑war years. Dubbed in 1937, the group was accused of harboring anti‑Semitic sentiments and wielding significant influence over senior British officials. Their connections allegedly extended to high‑ranking Nazi officials, and they were thought to have swayed Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement.
More recent scholarship suggests the Cliveden set may have been mischaracterized, noting that members were reportedly slated for immediate arrest had Germany successfully invaded Britain. Critics like Claud Cockburn of The Week labeled the group as “fake news” in hindsight. Nonetheless, the set remains forever linked in popular memory to pro‑German sympathies.
3 Sir Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Mosley stands out as perhaps the most overt Nazi sympathizer on this list. After a failed parliamentary bid in 1931, he traveled to Mussolini’s Italy in 1936, emerging convinced that fascism offered the best antidote to communism. He founded the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932, whose “blackshirts” terrorized Jewish neighborhoods and performed the Nazi salute in unison with Mosley.
In 1936 Mosley married Diana Guinness at the home of Joseph Goebbels, with Hitler himself in attendance. During World II, Mosley attempted to persuade the British government to accept Hitler’s peace overtures, leading to his arrest and house‑arrest for the war’s duration. While his influence waned after the Blitz, he continued to advocate for a united Europe after the conflict.
2 Philip Johnson
Architect Philip Johnson, celebrated for his glass‑house masterpiece in Connecticut, was an ardent admirer of Hitler’s Third Reich before the war erupted. He contributed articles to Father Coughlin’s anti‑Semitic newspaper Social Justice and traveled to Nazi Germany to cover the massive Nuremberg rallies, reportedly enthralled by their spectacle and forging contacts with senior Nazi officials.
In 1940 the FBI uncovered Johnson’s role in funneling German propaganda to the United States on the Nazis’ behalf, and he described the destruction of Warsaw as a “stirring spectacle.” Though he later tried to distance himself after the war, a 2018 New Yorker profile noted that Johnson still praised Hitler, calling him “better than Roosevelt” in a 1964 interview.
1 Viscount Rothermere
Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, may not be a household name today, but he helped forge two of Britain’s most influential tabloids—the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror. Between the wars, Rothermere corresponded directly with Hitler, publishing articles that effectively championed fascist ideas. He also backed Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists, using his media empire to promote their agenda.
Rothermere even paid an annual retainer to Stephanie von Hohenlohe, a notorious German spy monitored by British and American authorities, with the aim of advancing Nazi interests and gaining closer access to Hitler. In 1939 he authored My Fight to Rearm Britain, urging greater defense spending. Despite his deep ties to the Nazi regime, his influence ultimately failed to sway British public opinion.
N/A