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Message: [QUOTE="nelsonmuntz, post: 4935592, member: 833"] I am not going to defend her, but the show does a good job of showing how complicated life was under Nazi occupation. Several members of my extended family were members of the Resistance in Holland, and they were incredibly brave, but they were just regular people so it was easier to hide. Coco Chanel was already a big celebrity when Germany conquered France, and it was impossible for her to stay out of the politics of occupied France. She did a lot that was very wrong, and she should probably have been punished for it, but it was complicated, and the show illustrates that. I also struggle with the double standard of how so many of that era are treated. History treats Chanel as a collaborator, but Claus von Stauffenberg is considered a hero. Stauffenberg was a very effective officer who fought hard for Nazi domination of Europe, and only turned on and attempted to kill Hitler once it became clear Germany had no chance of winning the war. Even then, his incompetent attempt on Hitler's life likely extended the war because its failure triggered a purge of senior officers that may have made more effective assassins or at least been able to force a revolt within the Wehrmacht rather than a fight to the last man. Chanel was almost certainly playing both sides, but she probably had to. I have no problem with her attempt to contact the British in Madrid to communicate a willingness by some Germans for a peaceful solution. If Chanel had been successful in 1943, the war might have ended 18 months earlier and saved millions of lives and prevented Soviet domination of the East. I wouldn't say Chanel was a hero in any way, but things are not that black and white. [/QUOTE]

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