The Marburg Files, also known as the Windsor Files or Duke of Windsor Files, are a series of top-secret documents discovered in Germany during May 1945 near the Harz Mountains and compiled at Marburg Castle, Hesse.
The papers and correspondence discovered are alleged to have further detailed a plot by the Nazis, titled Operation Willi and orchestrated in 1940, to persuade the Duke of Windsor to officially join sides with the Nazis and move him to Germany in a bid to bring the UK to peace negotiations. It proposed convincing the duke of a fictitious plot by King George VI and Prime Minister Winston Churchill to have him assassinated upon his arrival in The Bahamas and conspiring with him to stage a kidnapping in the hope of blackmailing the monarchy and the UK into surrender. The papers are also alleged to reveal a plan to reinstate the duke as king and recognize his wife, Wallis Simpson, as queen, in exchange for Nazi forces being given free movement across Europe.
Documents considered the most damning for the British royal family were among his final communications with the Nazis before his departure to the Bahamas, in which it has been alleged the duke encouraged relentless bombing attacks on the United Kingdom in a bid to force the British government to begin peace negotiations. There is not believed to be any form of evidence that the duke accepted any terms offered by the Nazis in a bid to co-operate with Operation Willi, with historians stating he was initially more impressed by the encouragement he had from the British government to become Governor of the Bahamas, but some documents are alleged to confirm he sympathized with Nazi ideologies。
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are you aware of [Music] this I am as historians we have a duty to publish the truth no exceptions otherwise what are we all doing protecting Nazis protecting something else my hands are tied but his are not that’s right I have access to the US state department duplicate files including this there’s nothing to stop the American government publishing if the British government won’t I received a visit yesterday afternoon from John Wheeler Bennett the senior historian in charge of publishing the German war files who informed me that this government was now left with no choice but to publish certain material which both my predecessor Winston Churchill and yours your late father tried to suppress what material the marberg files M this was always going to come back to haunt us shortly after the war ended some British troops American American troops arrested a German soldier as he was retreating from TR near e in central Germany I don’t remember the solders name lant Fon L when in his offices were being evacuated Dr Schmidt asked his assistant from L to dispose of all the top secret papers which he had placed in archives and F L Dy burned the vast majority but he secretly kept the most valuable material hoping to use it to negotiate his freedom and to escape [Music] trial among the papers which Fon Lurch kept back there was one file pertaining to angerman relations in particular relationship of Nazi High command with his Royal highness the Duke of Windsor I think it’s fair to say the reality exceeded even our worst fears we did everything we could to contain this that’s your lot unaware that a copy had been sent to the Americans who are now insisting that this volume of marberg files be published and this is the man you inex explicably LED back into the country before you make your decision ma’am I believe you should be in full possession of the facts I’ve read the marberg files so have I I said full possession you mean there’s more yes ma’am the Duke of Windsor made his loyalties clear as soon as he became king surrounded himself with a new breed of courtier men such as Carl the Duke of sax cerg a renowned Nazi he also shared classified Allied documents with the Duchess of Windsor who was herself We Believe sharing a bed forgive me ma’am with the German ambassador ha ribbon TR it became so bad that the government had to stop putting Secret incens papers in his red box but we needn’t have worried because then we had the appication having promised to retire from public life we now know that he had no such intention why else would the pair of them decide to visit Hitler in Germany the fura labeled the trip an unofficial State visit so it is is unsurprising that it was on that same trip at the home of ha hes that the plan was hatched a plan to reinstate the Duke of Windsor as king of England effectively betraying and dethroning your dear late father in return for German forces being given free reign across Europe German troops were even promised to quell a colonial Rebellion if necessary and there were visits to SS training schools and early versions of the concentration camps now of course the full Horrors were Yet to Come nonetheless he visited when a German aircraft crashed in Belgium carrying Hitler’s entire military plan for the invasion of France Duke wasted no time in letting his Nazi friends know that Alli forces had indeed recovered this Priceless information which gave Germany time to change its plans and in less than a month Paris fell to German occupation but perhaps worst of all the Duke told the German government that resolve in the United Kingdom in the face of the German aerial bombardment was weakening and that continued bombing that is the continued Slaughter of his fellow Countryman and former subjects would I quote soon make Britain ready for peace [Music]