Errol Flynn 'worked as a Nazi spy and met Adolf Hitler'
The Australian-born star, who was known for his anti-Semitic views, worked undercover for the Germans during the Spanish Civil War, according to a controversial biography.
Charles Higham alleges that Flynn was employed to gather information on German socialists who fought against General Franco, helping contribute to the death of hundreds of volunteers and their families.
The hard-drinking and womanising actor's life is currently being celebrated with a special festival in his home state of Tasmania.
Higham, whose claims are partly based on analysis of declassified CIA files but have been challenged by other historians, said that the commemorations were inappropriate given the actor's political activities.
"There is no doubt whatsoever that Flynn had Nazi sympathies and worked as a Nazi operative if not an actual agent," he told the Daily Mail.
"He was first noticed for his violently anti-British and pro-Nazi views as early as 1934 and there is little doubt his work for the Nazis resulted in people being killed."
According to the biography, Flynn fell under the influence of a Hermann Erben, an Austrian doctor and Nazi party member, in the 1930s. They both travelled to Spain in 1937 where they fed information to the Gestapo, it is alleged...
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Charles Higham alleges that Flynn was employed to gather information on German socialists who fought against General Franco, helping contribute to the death of hundreds of volunteers and their families.
The hard-drinking and womanising actor's life is currently being celebrated with a special festival in his home state of Tasmania.
Higham, whose claims are partly based on analysis of declassified CIA files but have been challenged by other historians, said that the commemorations were inappropriate given the actor's political activities.
"There is no doubt whatsoever that Flynn had Nazi sympathies and worked as a Nazi operative if not an actual agent," he told the Daily Mail.
"He was first noticed for his violently anti-British and pro-Nazi views as early as 1934 and there is little doubt his work for the Nazis resulted in people being killed."
According to the biography, Flynn fell under the influence of a Hermann Erben, an Austrian doctor and Nazi party member, in the 1930s. They both travelled to Spain in 1937 where they fed information to the Gestapo, it is alleged...