- Walther Sommerlath
Carl August "Walther" Sommerlath (
January 22 ,1901 -October 21 ,1990 ), father ofQueen Silvia of Sweden , was a Germanbusinessman , president of the Brazilian subsidiary of the Swedish steel-parts manufacturer Uddeholm Tooling.Biography
Early life
He was born and raised in
Heidelberg . Son of Louis Carl "Moritz" Sommerlath (Chicago , Cook County,Illinois ,January 2 ,1860 -Heidelberg ,March 21 ,1930 ), from an armed family of the GermanBourgeoisie , and wife (married atLewe ,October 6 ,1886 ) "Erna" Sophie Christine Waldau (Lewe ,February 21 ,1864 -Leipzig ,March 15 ,1944 ). In the mid 1920s, Walther Sommerlath moved toSão Paulo , São Paulo,Brazil where he worked for the steel companyAcus Roechling Boulerus do Brasil , a subsidiary in the German steel groupRoechling .On
December 10 ,1925 he married Alice Soares de Toledo (São Manuel , São Paulo,May 15 ,1906 -Heidelberg ,March 9 ,1997 ), inSanta Cecília , São Paulo. She was of Portuguese and remote Spanish descent, daughter of Arthur Floriano de Toledo (Porto Feliz , São Paulo, 1873 -São Paulo , São Paulo,November 15 ,1935 ) and wife (married atSão Manuel , São Paulo,April 3 ,1900 ) Elisa de Novaes Soares (São José , São Paulo,April 18 ,1881 -São Paulo , São Paulo,February 26 ,1928 ).In 1938, Walther Sommerlath left Brazil and returned to Heidelberg. In 1939 he moved to the German capital
Berlin . Between 1939 and 1943, Sommerlath ran a company in Berlin that manufactured arms to be used in the War. In 1943, Sommerlath’s plant was destroyed by allied bombs. Later that year, the Sommerlath family returned to Heidelberg, and the same year, Silvia was born.After the War, in 1947 the Sommerlath family returned to Brazil, where Walther Sommerlath worked as the president of the Brazilian subsidiary of the Swedish steel-parts manufacturer Uddeholm. The family finally moved back to Heidelberg in 1957. Walter Sommerlath died in Heidelberg in 1990.
Membership of the Nazi Party
Not very much is publicly known about Sommerlath's Nazi affiliations. Living as a German citizen in
São Paulo ,Brazil , Sommerlath joined as an expatriate member the German National Socialist Worker's Party,NSDAP/AO onDecember 1 ,1934 , as member no. 3592030. His brotherPaul Sommerlath had joined the Party in 1933. The Sommerlath brothers remained members of the Nazi party until the party was banned and dissolved by the allies in 1945.In 1976, when Silvia was to marry King Carl Gustaf, the Swedish daily "
Expressen " interviewed Sommerlath about his Nazi background. In the interview, Sommerlath denied that he had any connections with the Nazi Party, saying that his only part of the War was his work at the arms factory in Berlin.Death
He died in
Heidelberg .References
* Rosvall, Ted, "Bernadotteättlingar", Falköping: Rosvall Royal Books, 1992, ISBN 91-630-1299-5
* [http://www.wargs.com/royal/silvia.html Ancestry of Queen Silvia of Sweden]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
