Was Rolex founder a Nazi spy? Newly declassified British Intelligence files allege links to the Hitler regime

MI5, the security service responsible for protecting the UK against threats to national security, once suspected that Hans Wilsdorf, the German-born founder of the iconic Rolex luxury watch empire, held strong Nazi sympathies and possibly acted as a spy during the Second World War, according to the revelations made by secret British intelligence files.

According to a Telegraph report, the declassified records termed Wilsdorf as “most objectionable” and alleged that he may have used his position to spread propaganda for Adolf Hitler’s regime. The documents are held at the National Archives. They were written between 1941 and 1943, and many were stamped with “Box 500.” It was a wartime nickname for MI5’s headquarters, highlighting fears among British authorities that Wilsdorf posed a security risk despite being a naturalized British citizen.

Hans Wilsdorf: Personal life and Nazi allegations

Wilsdorf was born in Bavaria in 1881. He began making watches in Hatton Garden after moving to London in 1903. Later, he founded Rolex. He married Florence Crotty, a British woman, and then moved the company’s headquarters to Geneva in 1919.

According to The Telegraph, British officials had become increasingly wary of Wilsdorf’s loyalties by the early 1940s.

According to a 1941 report from the British consul in Geneva, he was “well known for his strong Nazi sympathies.” The report also emphasized that his brother, Karl, was working in Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda ministry.

Swiss federal police were already surveilling Wilsdorf due to concerns he might be spreading Nazi propaganda globally.

A 1943 MI5 report revealed that the agency monitored Rolex’s British operations in Bexleyheath and suspected Wilsdorf of “espionage on behalf of the enemy.” The documents frequently described him as “well known” for his political sympathies toward the Nazi regime.

Rolex acknowledges the archive file

The documents have been acknowledged by the Swiss watchmaker, stating that it is taking the allegations seriously.

Speaking to the Telegraph, a company spokesperson said that an independent review is underway, led by Swiss historian Dr. Marc Perrenoud, who specializes in Switzerland’s role during World War II.

Perrenoud has assembled a committee of historians from multiple countries to assist with the research. “In the interest of transparency, we will publish Dr. Perrenoud’s findings once he has completed his work,” the spokesperson told The Telegraph.

M15’s report throws light on Wilsdorf’s wartime gestures

The M15 report also raised questions about the true motive behind one of Wilsdorf’s most celebrated wartime gestures: sending free Rolex watches to British prisoners of war during World War II.

After German officers seized watches from captured servicemen, Cpl. Clive Nutting, held at the notorious Stalag Luft III camp in Poland in 1940, wrote to Wilsdorf requesting replacements.

Wilsdorf agreed and told Nutting not to worry about payment until after the war, also sending food parcels and tobacco to some prisoners. While this act helped boost Rolex’s public image, British officials at the time questioned whether it was genuine kindness or a calculated effort to gain favor.


What did Jose Pereztroika, who discovered the MI5 file, say about the documents

Jose Pereztroika, a historian of watchmaking who discovered the MI5 file and reached out to the Telegraph, believes the evidence supports the view that Wilsdorf sympathized with the Nazis. He argued that the company’s gifts to Allied prisoners might be “a stunt to gain favor with the British government” at a time when Swiss watch imports to the UK were largely banned.

By 1943, MI5 decided against blacklisting Wilsdorf due to a lack of evidence suggesting harmful activity by the Swiss company. The agency, however, maintained he was “most objectionable.”