The historian Lord Acton once said, “Great men are almost always bad men.” There is something about power, money, and fame that truly does cause people to become terrible. Or, maybe they were always a bad person, and they were just good at hiding it from the masses. In today’s article, we’re going to go over famous figures throughout time who have been praised in the history books, but they have actually done terrible things.
Coco Chanel Collaborated with the Enemy During WWII
Most people idolize Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and see her as the epitome of high fashion. However, During World War II, when the Germans occupied France, Gabrielle decided to collaborate with the enemy. The alternative would have been to close down her shop in Paris, which would have put her out of business. To make matters worse, she entered a romantic relationship with a high-ranking German officer named Baron Hans Günther von Dincklage. The cherry on top of the cake to damn her reputation is the fact that she sold out her Jewish business partners Pierre and Paul Wertheimer. However, some who want to defend her will point out that she had been taken advantage of by the Wertheimers due to her inexperience in business, and that she actually maintained a friendship with Winston Churchill. So there is a chance that she might have been a double agent.