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Shell’s Dark Fuel: The Nazi Past the Oil Giant Couldn’t Bury

Oct 14th, 2025
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

Part 1: The Oil That Powered the Reich

Shell likes to describe itself as “an energy company of the future.” But history, inconveniently, refuses to stay buried. Long before Shell courted wind farms and “net-zero” slogans, it courted Adolf Hitler.

In the 1930s, as Europe spiralled toward war, Royal Dutch Shell — the genteel Anglo-Dutch oil giant whose modern logo is now synonymous with sustainability brochures — was actively supplying the economic bloodstream of Nazi Germany. Its founder and spiritual patriarch, Sir Henri Deterding, wasn’t merely an admirer of Hitler’s regime; he was a willing participant in its rise. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell Corporate Collaboration with the Nazis

Oct 12th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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By John Donovan

From: “New Images of Nazi Germany”

Extract from the section “Corporate Collaboration” commencing page 203 running onto page 204

The connection of the Royal Dutch Shell Group to Nazi Germany centered on Sir Henri Deterding…

Variously described as the “most powerful man in the world” and the “Napoleon of Oil,” he was also an early admirer of both Hitler and Mussolini…

Deterding himself offered a plan in 1935 to provide a year’s worth of oil credit to Nazi Germany, in principle a war reserve. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s effort to help maintain Hitler’s foreign markets thereby aiding the Nazi Government in its direct war against Britain

Oct 10th, 2021
by John Donovan.
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EXTRACT FROM A U.S. SENATE REPORT 1943

By John Donovan

A recently published book revealed the extent to which Shell played a key role in Hitler’s war effort. Unfortunately for Shell, new information about Shell’s Nazi history emerges on a regular basis.

The information below is from a hearing held in the United States Senate in 1943. It is available online as a result of a digitization project by Google.

The featured extract has the headline SHELL OIL INTERESTS OFFERED TO HELP GERMANY EVADE BLOCKADE. It is about a business deal between Shell and its German partner in many major ventures, I.G. Farben. The chemical giant supplied the Zyklon-B gas used to exterminate millions of innocent people in the Holocaust. Many I.G. Farben directors were found guilty of war crimes. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

No apology or compensation for Shell’s blatant antisemitism that killed many loyal Shell employees when Shell was in bed with the Nazis

Jun 27th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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The top lawyer at Shell has already disputed irrefutable evidence and threatened legal action against me, but it has all proven to be empty bluster. The last thing Shell wants is for its Nazi past to be aired in open court. 

By John Donovan

Toxic ramifications from Nazi business connections continue to make news headlines several decades after the end of WW2.

Two weeks ago we published a story about Shell arising from a New York Times article published on 14 June 2019 revealing that billionaire descendants of a family who control a company which owns Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Pret A Manger and a number of other famous brands are grappling with the exposure of an unspeakable secret – a Nazi history. See No atonement from Royal Dutch Shell for its Nazi history read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

CONTENT

May 15th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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SUMMARY OF FEATURED CONTENT FROM THE EBOOK “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL”
CHAPTER 1: The best historians Shell could buy
CHAPTER 2: News story in February 2015: Shell ship named after a Nazi SS Officer
CHAPTER 3: Royal Dutch Shell and the Nazis
CHAPTER 4: Media coverage of Sir Henri Deterding’s death
CHAPTER 5: The Nazi Funeral of Royal Dutch Shell leader Sir Henri Deterding
CHAPTER 6: Great friend of the Germans
CHAPTER 7: “You Can Be Sure of Shell….”
CHAPTER 8: Royal Dutch Shell Anti-Semitism
CHAPTER 9: Deterding’s support for Nazi Stormtroopers
CHAPTER 10: Shell support for the Nazis continued after the retirement of Sir Henri as leader
CHAPTER 11: Shell collaborated in the Nazi annexation of Austria and occupation of Czechoslovakia
CHAPTER 12: Shell’s notorious business partner: IG Farben
CHAPTER 13: Royal Dutch Shell and Nazi slave labor
CHAPTER 14: Control of Royal Dutch Shell companies in Nazi-occupied Europe
CHAPTER 15: Nazi connections relating to Shell
CHAPTER 16: Shell historians attempt to distance Deterding from Hitler
CHAPTER 17: Why does it still matter?
CHAPTER 18: Time for a rare public apology from Shell?
CHAPTER 19: INDEX OF KEY DATES
CHAPTER 20: Shell cloak and dagger activities
CHAPTER 21: Wikipedia: The sanitization of Shell’s history
Chapter 22: Author’s unique connection with Shell
CHAPTER 23: Index of Shell leadership financial support for the Nazis

RELATED ARTICLES

Deterding’s massive funding for Hitlers Winterhilfswerk (added 2 Aug 2019)

Evidence confirms that Shell fuelled the Nazi war machine: First published on royaldutchshellplc.com 2021

Shell’s effort to help maintain Hitler’s foreign markets thereby aiding the Nazi Government in its direct war against Britain: added October 2021

Royal Dutch Shell Corporate Collaboration with the Nazis: added Oct 2021

Henry van der Waerden, the Shell executive who defied Deterding and his Nazi ambitions

Shell’s toxic Nazi history catching up with the energy giant read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Henry van der Waerden, the Shell executive who defied Deterding and his Nazi ambitions

Jan 14th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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Who Killed Henry?: The book title arises from the fact that in 1937, Shell Director for Europe Henry van der Waerden was found dead in mysterious circumstances after receiving a threat from members of the Nazi movement. This was after he had failed to respond favourably to intense pressure from Deterding and the Nazis to do their bidding.

By John Donovan

I was recently contacted by Henry van Buuren, the grandson of Henry van der Waerden, an engineer who held a high-level position at Shell under Sir Henri Deterding. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Air Force Attack on Gestapo HQ in Shell House Copenhagen

Jan 5th, 2019
by John Donovan.
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Shell House before the bombing. At the time of the bombing, it was painted in camouflage colours

Operation Carthage, on 21 March 1945, was a British air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark during the Second World War which caused significant collateral damage. The target of the raid was the Shellhus, used as Gestapo headquarters in the city centre. It was used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish citizens during interrogations. The Danish Resistance had long asked the British to conduct a raid against the site. The building was destroyed, 18 prisoners were freed and anti-resistance Nazi activities were disrupted. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell’s Nazi Boss, feted by Hitler in return for massive financial support 

Sep 13th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Sir Henri Deterding was Director General of the Royal Dutch Shell Group when his initial massive donation of food to Nazi Germany was announced in a Reuter’s Wireless report dated 20 December 1936. 

The donated food on that occasion filled 7,000 railway wagons.

Despite criticism in the news media, specifically linking the money saved on food to Nazi rearmament, Deterding continued to donate Dutch food for Nazi Germany, where he now lived after marrying his secretary, a young German woman. Like him, an ardent Nazi.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell should apologise for antisemitic conduct and Nazi support

Sep 11th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Royal Dutch Shell should apologise for antisemitic conduct and Nazi support

By John Donovan

I strongly believe that Royal Dutch Shell should be held accountable for its outrageous antisemitic actions against its own employees, which cost some of them their lives. The same applies to Shell’s huge financial support for Nazi Germany that contributed to the deaths of some 50 million victims in WW2 including those poor souls who perished in the Holocaust. Shell’s leader, Sir Henri Deterding, was an ardent Nazi feted by Adolf Hitler. Shell has never apologised or expressed any remorse.  read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

CHAPTER 23: Index of Shell leadership financial support for the Nazis

Aug 26th, 2018
by John Donovan.
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Dutch cartoons provide evidence of a perception in pre-WW2 years that Sir Henri Deterding was a major financier of Hitler’s Nazi regime. Identified by name in both cartoons, Deterding is depicted handing over a bag of money to the Nazis containing a large sum – 1000 000 00 – in unspecified currency: see enlargements 1 and 2. Overwhelming evidence confirms that the perception was well founded. 

Extracts from relevant news reports and books, many authored before WW2, are listed in date order, providing compelling evidence of what transpired all those years ago. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell historians attempt to distance Deterding from Hitler

Oct 1st, 2016
by John Donovan.
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screen-shot-2016-10-24-at-14-26-11EBOOK BY JOHN DONOVAN: SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Chapter 16: Shell historians attempt to distance Deterding from Hitler

screen-shot-2016-11-04-at-15-00-13

Shell’s historians downplayed the relationship between Hitler and Deterding. As far they are concerned, the two never met. They said that a request by Sir Henri for a meeting with Hitler in March 1933 was rebuffed and disregarded Deterding’s claim that he met with Hitler in November 1933.  Not only were there meetings. Deterding “was revered and ultimately mourned by Hitler.”

Shell’s historians portrayed the relationship between Deterding and Hitler as standoffish on the part of Hitler, with all of Deterding’s attempts to meet with him being rebuffed. See pages 481 to 485 of RDSH V1. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Deterding orders-Hitler acts

Dec 12th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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News reports from long ago are emerging on the Internet as newspapers create digital searchable online archives. This is a disastrous development for  companies such as Royal Dutch Shell that have been around for a long time and have a toxic history to hide.

By John Donovan

News reports from long ago are emerging on the Internet as newspapers create digital searchable online archives. This is a disastrous development for  companies such as Royal Dutch Shell that have been around for a long time and have a toxic history to hide.

An article published on 3 April 1933 by the Border Cities Star, a Canadian daily newspaper, reported allegations made in Pravda, the official political publication of the Soviet Communist Party in Russia. They accused Sir Henri Deterding, the tyrannical head of Royal Dutch Shell, of funding Hitler and described the Nazis as “obedient agents of their benefactors,” claiming: “Deterding orders-Hitler acts.” read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Shell and the Dutch fascists: A study in black

Dec 7th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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We have to keep in mind that it was not only Sir Henri Deterding who was a keen supporter of the Nazi’s. In the 1930’s there were other Shell directors such as J.E.F. de Kok and *Wim Rost van Tonningen who were also keen supporters of Hitler and his henchmen.

Guest Author: Ton Biesemaat (Dutch freelance investigative journalist and writer) Article published 7 December 2012

Among individuals interested in the history of Shell, it is common knowledge that in spite of Shell sponsored academic studies, it is clear that Deterding was the man who made Royal Dutch Shell a global powerhouse in the first half of the twentieth century, but was also financially supporting the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. This is very well illustrated by the photo of Deterdings death in 1938 on his German Mecklenburg-estate which was previously owned by the husband of Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Allegations made against Allseas Group

Sep 30th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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“Any implication that Allseas is any way involved in, or supported by, a political agenda – including any reference to conspiracy, criminality and non-transparent business relationships – is completely unfounded and refuted in the strongest possible terms.”

By John Donovan

I was recently approached by a party who made serious allegations against the Swiss-based Allseas Group, “a global leader in offshore pipeline installation and subsea construction.”

Someone appears to have put a considerable effort into putting forward a detailed set of allegations supported by extensive documentary evidence. That does not mean the allegations are true.

The source of the allegations drew my attention to Allseas links with Royal Dutch Shell.

In this connection, we have previously published leaked emails sent to Allseas by Shell EP Ireland in respect of the Corrib Gas Project. On 9 September 2008, Maura Harrington, a leading figure in the Shell to Sea campaign went on hunger strike in protest at the arrival of the Solitaire, an Allseas pipe-laying ship assisting in the Corrib project. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

When will Royal Dutch Shell apologize to the Jews?

Jan 28th, 2012
by John Donovan.
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The Sun newspaper published an article horrifically confirming, following a DNA test, that a lampshade bought at a New Orleans car boot sale is made from human skin. A gruesome relic from Nazi crimes against humanity in the 2nd World War. As the main financier of the Nazis, does Royal Dutch Shell bear any moral (or legal) responsibility for the crimes of Hitler and his equally evil henchmen?

By John Donovan

Yesterday, after 70 years, Norway apologized for the deportation of 773 Jews from Nazi occupied Norway during World War 2.  The majority were shipped to concentration camps and only 34 survived. See news report below.

Royal Dutch Shell has much more to apologize for about its Nazi past.

Shell and its Nazi leader Sir Henri Deterding, conspired directly with Hitler, financed Nazi Germany, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis.

In March 2011, the chief corporate lawyer at Royal Dutch Shell threatened us with legal proceedings in relationship to this sensitive subject.  We are still waiting for Shell to take any action. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Royal Dutch Shell founder Deterding backed Nazi Stormtroopers

Aug 7th, 2011
by John Donovan.
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EXTRACT: “Shell was in a business partnership in Germany with the Nazi run company I.G. Farben, which manufactured and supplied the Zyklon-B gas to exterminate millions of people in the Holocaust. Under the circumstances, it can fairly be said that Deterding/Royal Dutch Shell contributed towards the gas bill.”

By John Donovan

The Sturmabteilung (SA) Stormtroopers, the paramilitary wing of the German Nazi Party, played an important role in Hitlers rise to power. SA men were known as “brownshirts.”

Sir Henri Deterding, the person most responsible for founding the Royal Dutch Shell global business empire, was linked to the SA.

Sir Henri was at the helm of the oil giant for over 30 years and at the height of his powers, was able to bind the Board of Shell without their knowledge and consent. Deterding and Royal Dutch Shell were one and the same. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
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